As the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa celebrated Eid Monday following the announcement of the provincial government led by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, the acting governor of the province opposed it while announcing Eid tomorrow (Tuesday) with the rest of the country.
Acting Governor Mushtaq Ghani announced to celebrate Eid tomorrow saying no evidence regarding sighting of Shawwal moon had been received from Hazara division. So, Eid in Abbottabad and Hazara will be celebrated on May 3 (Tuesday) as per the announcement of Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, he added. On the other hand, the people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa celebrated Eid Monday after the PTI-led provincial government had announced last night the sighting of Shawwal moon.
Though the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee had announced that Eidul Fitr will be celebrated on Tuesday the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government opted for Eidul Fitr on May 2 (Monday) at the official level, despite the festival will be celebrated in the rest of the country on May 03. The decision was taken by KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan. While making the Eid announcement, Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said that 130 evidences of the Shawwal moon sighting have been received from different parts of the province.
Following the provincial government’s decision, the KP people offered Eid prayers throughout the province. The prayers were also offered at hundreds of places in Peshawar where the biggest prayer gathering was held at Charsadda Road. KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, provincial cabinet members and government officials offered Eid-ul-Fitr prayers at the Governor’s House in Peshawar. Following KP government’s announcement, Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Syed Abdul Khabir Azad ruled out revisiting his committee’s decision, saying the body will be reconvened to review the situation.
Eidul Fitr will be on Tuesday as per the decision of the central committee, he said while talking to a private televisio channel. Decisions made on the basis of Shariah will not be changed, he stressed, adding the leading religious scholars seconded their decision. Eidul Fitr was being celebrated Monday in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries across the world with religious fervour. Also, Muslims in Britain, Canada, France, and the United States of America observed the first day of Eid that marked the end of Ramadan.
