Men greet one another after Eidul Fitr prayers to mark the end of the holy month of Ramazan in Peshawar. PHOTO: REUTERS
Huge Eid congregations were held in Peshawar, Nowshera, Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, Hangu, Bannu, and the merged tribal districts.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan offering Eid prayers at the Eid Gah ground at the CM House in Peshawar. Special Assistant to CM Kamran Bangash and local Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker Asif Khan also participated.
The Eid congregation at the historic Masjid Qasim Khan, where its khateeb Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai had announced the sighting of the moon late on Monday evening, was also quite substantial.
After greeting each other with Eid, the families headed home after Eid prayers to spend the day visiting relatives, neighbours and friends.
Children, dressed in their new clothes, were offered gifts and Eidi to celebrate the jubilant occasion.
Some thronged graveyards, despite the extreme weather, to shower the graves of their loved ones with flower petals and to offer prayers.
The scent from the flowers uplifted the grave atmosphere.
Even though people thronged mosques, graveyards and playgrounds, the city’s roads, which are largely congested with bumper-to-bumper traffic, offered a deserted look because most of the migrant workers had departed for their native areas.
Orphans enjoy tug-of-war on the ground of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Governor House on Tuesday as part of Eid festivities. PHOTO: EXPRESSGovernor to celebrate Eid today
As a representative of the President, K-P Governor Shah Farman has decided to celebrate Eidul Fitr on Wednesday (today) with the rest of the country.
According to an official at the Governor House, the Governor is currently in the Nathiagali Hill Station and has decided to celebrate Eid with the federal government.
He quoted the governor as saying that since he was a representative of the central government, he could not celebrate Eid before the federal government.
Meanwhile, the Governor House was opened for orphans of the city so that they could celebrate Eid. The children, from Zamong Kor and other orphanages, were welcomed into the sprawling grounds of the Governor House where races and a tug-of-war was held.
The children were also given Eidi on behalf of the governor.
Split over Eid
Like every year, a split has emerged on observing Eidul Fitr on the same day. An endorsement by the provincial government of the announcement made by the regional moon-sighting committee ensured that most parts of the province, including parts of the Hazara division, observed Eid on Tuesday.
K-P Minister for Information Shaukat Yousafzai has claimed that the announcement of Eid-ul-Fitr was made after consulting Prime Minister Imran Khan.
“We wanted to show the residents of the newly merged tribal areas that we were standing with them as they were celebrating Eid on June 4,” he said.
Responding to concerns regarding celebrating Eid after Ramazan28, the minister said that the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee had made a mistake while sighting the Ramazan moon and that they tried to rectify it by celebrating Eid on the right day.
In lieu of which, Yousafzai said that people who celebrated Eid on Tuesday will have to observe a fast to make up for the missed day.
Swat, the native district of CM Mahmood, Malakand, Hazara Division and Dera Ismail Khan will be celebrating Eid with the rest of the country on Wednesday.
The K-P government has also decided to raise objections over ignoring moon-sighting testimonies from the province by the central moon-sighting committee.
K-P CM’s Advisor Kamran Bangash said that the federal government has assured that the federal government would look into the matter.
Politicians mixed on Eid
Leaders of nationalist parties such as Asfand Yar Wali Khan of the Awami National Party (ANP) and Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) chief Aftab Sherpao celebrated Eid with the K-P government.
However, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman decided to celebrate Eid as per the announcement of the central Ruet-e-Hilal committee.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 5th, 2019.
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