The National Assembly of Pakistan Wednesday passed a bill declaring unofficial moon-sighting by private bodies liable to punishment.
The new bill — The Pakistan Ruet-e-Hilal Bill 2022” — aims at banning the establishment of private committees and announcement of the status of the new moon ahead of the official declaration.
The bill, which had been pending in the lower house of parliament since 2021, was moved by Minister of State for Law and Justice Shahadat Awan in the absence of Religious Affairs Minister Talha Mehmood.
Now, the bill needs to get approval from the upper house of the parliament — the Senate — to become law.
“No committee, entity or organisation by whatever name called, other than the federal, provincial and district committees for sighting the moon, shall operate in all over Pakistan or any part,” read the bill.
The moon sighting controversy crops up every year before religious festivals and in the past up to three Eidul Fitr were celebrated in different parts of the country as there was no law to regulate the system of moon sightings. The present set-up is functioning under the religious affairs ministry as per a resolution passed by the National Assembly in 1974.
However, under the new bill, the announcement of a moon sighting can be made only by the chairperson of the Federal Ruet-i-Hilal Committee or any member of the committee authorised by the chairperson.
The bill proposes a fine of up to Rs500,000 for those violating the provisions of the bill, including the establishment of private moon sighting bodies or making the relevant announcements.
At the same time, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority may fine the electronic media up to Rs 1 million or suspend their licences, or both, if they broke the news of the moon sighting before the Ruet-i-Hilal committee made an official declaration.
Likewise, any person or persons giving false evidence regarding moon sightings will be liable to imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to Rs50,000 or both.
Under the new bill, there will be Ruet-i-Hilal committees comprising clerics and relevant officers at the federal level, each province, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Such committees will also be established at the district level.
