Parts of K-P celebrate Eid today

PESHAWAR/ BANNU: An unofficial moon-sighting committee in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) has announced Eidul Fitr on Friday (today) in the province “after receiving testimony of at least 11 witnesses” who claimed to have sighted the Shawwal moon late Thursday.

Like previously the committee at Peshawar’s famed Masjid Qasim Ali Khan, led by Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai, has diverged from the country’s official committee when it comes to moon sighting. Some 13 witnesses were produced before the committee of which 11 were accepted by the clerics.

Separately, local clerics held meetings in different districts also and received multiple witnesses after it was decided that Eid will be celebrated on Friday in main districts but it would still be a partial Eid in the province.

Read: Eid moon sighted in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE

Witnesses from Peshawar district, Kohat, Bannu, Bakka Khel, FR Bannu, and Bajaur Agency are said to have sighted the Shawwal moon.

Meanwhile, in Bannu more than three dozen people claimed to have sighted the Shawwal moon late Thursday.

A shura of local clerics, under the supervision of Mufti Abdul Ghani, was held at the Eidgah of the main mosque in Bannu after the district government refused to allow the committee to hold their meeting at the Municipal Committee Hall to receive witnesses.

“The clerics in the mosque heard the testimonies and examined the evidences in light of shariah,” said Ghani while addressing the local people.

He said that they are convinced that the Shawwal moon has been sighted and Eidul Fitr will be on Friday, pointing out that they received more than 30 witnesses.


Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2015.