Ramazan may begin a day earlier in K-P

Qasim Ali Khan mosque says its judgment differs with that of Ruet-i-Hilal committee.

PESHAWAR: In some parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the holy month of Ramazan may be observed a day before the rest of the country, due to conflicting moon observations.

Religious clerics will meet on 29th Shaban in Qasim Ali Khan mosque, Peshawar, for moon-sighting.

Meanwhile, the Central Ruet-i-Hilal committee will also observe the moon on the same day.

However, there has been a conflict about moon-sightings in the country, with the chief cleric of the Qasim Ali Khan Mosque, Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai, saying that the Ruet-i-Hilal was ineffective.

He told The Express Tribune that the Ruet-i-Hilal committee was presented with evidence from people who had sighted the moon in K-P but it was disregarded by its members.

When Mufti Muneebur Rehman was contacted, he defended the committee saying all evidence gathered was judged in accordance to the sharia.

“Whenever someone presents us evidence it is mandatory that it is questioned and judged by authorities to ensure authenticity. Some sightings may be rejected as they do not meet the required standards,” he said.

The provincial minister for religious affairs, Nimroz Khan, said a committee of influential clerics had been made to judge whether Ramazan would begin in K-P a day before the federal government announced it.

He said that his ministry was working with the clerics to ensure that the country celebrated religious holidays together.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal provincial leader Abdul Jalil Jan, who sits in the Qasim Ali Khan mosque moon-sighting committee, said: “It is important to celebrate Ramazan and Eid on the same day as the rest of the country.” However, he said it was important that Ruet-i-Hilal took evidence into K-P into account.

He said it was unlikely that they would observe the first say of fasting on the same day as the rest of the country.