PESHAWAR: After announcement about sighting of moon on Sunday night by a local Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, Eidul Fitr was celebrated in many parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its tribal districts on Monday.

However, many people in the province declared that they will celebrate Eid on Tuesday (today).

The announcement about moon-sighting was initially made on Sunday by Mufti Shahabuddin in Peshawar. At first the provincial government rejected the announcement but later on, after receiving some credible testimonies regarding the crescent, it proceeded to follow suit.

However, the residents of some areas in Peshawar, Hazara Division and other parts of the province have said they will celebrate the festival on Tuesday (today) in line with the announcement of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee.

After a meeting on Sunday night the chairman of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad had said: “No credible testimonies of moon sightings were received from any part of the county. (Therefore), the first day of Eid will fall on May 3.”

According to sources, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly’s Speaker Mushtaq Ghani declared along with some clerics that he will celebrate Eid on Tuesday, thereby distancing himself from the decision of the provincial government.

The sources said that Eid prayers were offered at various mosques and Eidgahs across the province where people prayed for the integrity, prosperity and progress of the country.

The main Eidul Fitr gathering in Peshawar was organised at the Central Eidgah on Charsadda Road while Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and members of the provincial cabinet offered prayers at the Governor House.

The festival was celebrated in all the major cities of the province, including parts of Peshawar, Bannu, Nowshera, Swabi, Tank, and Mardan. Eid prayers were also offered in all the areas of South Waziristan. Eid congregations were also held in Charsadda, Takhtbahi, Mardan, Nowshera, Swabi, and Karak.

On many occasions in the past as well the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have celebrated Eid a day before the rest of the country.

In 2019, when the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf was in power both at the Centre and in the province, the provincial government endorsed Mufti Shahabuddin’s announcement about moon-sighting and decided to celebrate Eidul Fitr a day before the rest of the country.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022