PHC dismisses plea against Ruet-e-Hilal Committee

Court declares issue falls outside of its jurisdiction

PESHAWAR: The high court on Thursday dismissed a petition citing jurisdiction limitations on stopping the central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee (Moon-sighting committee) from sighting the moon and announcing Eidul Fitr as per the lunar calendar.

The case was dismissed by the Peshawar High Court on Thursday. Shahid Orakzai, who filed the writ petition, demanded that the court dissolve the moon-sighting committee after the Ministry of Science and Technology introduced a scientific calendar. The petitioner further contended that due to the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, the nation had been split into two over the two Eid.

By dissolving the committee, the petitioner urged the court to help prevent the split.

The court, after an initial hearing of the petition, has dismissed the petition, stating that the matter was out of its jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, Masjid Qasim Ali Khan Khateeb Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai has called a meeting of the zonal Ruet-e-Hilal committee on Monday, June 3.

Petition to remove Ziaul Haq’s body

A writ petition has been filed in the PHC, demanding that the body of the former dictator General Ziaul Haq should be removed from Faisal Mosque in Islamabad and should be relocated to a cemetery maintained by the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

The petition, filed by Khurshid Khan, stated that the former dictator had overthrown a democratically elected government in 1977 and had pushed the nation into the Afghan-Russia conflict. As a result, the country was flooded by Afghan refugees, weapon and drugs. But after his death, he was entombed in a mosque gifted by the Saudi government. It argued that this was un-Islamic and unconstitutional. It added that a culture of horse-trading was also introduced into the parliament, while non-political personalities have been inducted to the parliament through political engineering. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2019.