Fawad Chaudhry renews call for the dissolution of Ruet-e-Hilal Committee

By Muhammad YaseenPublished On 04 Jan 2023

Fawad Chaudhry has once again called for the dissolution of the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee

He says Eidul Fitr will be on Sunday (May 24) but the Committee wants it to be on Monday.

The federal science and technology minister said he will hold a press conference on Friday to highlight all the necessary information.

He said he will also explain why Eid falls on May 24 and why the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee wants it on May 25.

In this new age of science and technology, there is no need for the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, said Chaudhry.

This isn’t the first time Chaudhry has locked horns with Pakistan’s moon-sighting committee. Last year, he announced that his ministry would make an Islamic calendar with Eid, Ramazan and Muharram dates pre-decided before the official announcement. In response, Mufti Muneebur Rehman, the head of the Committee, told Chaudhry to mind his own business.

Sighting the moon ahead of major Islamic events (like Eid, Ramazan or Muharram) is an event in Pakistan. People wait on tenterhooks for the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee to decide whether the moon has been sighted or not. It gathers information from its sub-committees in provincial capitals and the main committee decides whether or not the moon has indeed been sighted. Teams from SUPARCO and the Pakistan Meteorological Department also sit with the committee to sight the moon.

Chaudhry had said on Twitter that the country’s future cannot be left to maulvis (religious clerics). He announced that a five-member committee comprising officials from SUPARCO and his ministry would make a new 10-year calendar to put an end to the “controversies” that arise every year around major Islamic events. “When we have the technology, why not use it?” he asked.