Ruet-e-Hilal Committee took the right decision to announce Eid, says Tahir Ashrafi

Prime Minister Imran Khan's Special Representative for Interfaith Harmony Maulana Tahir Ashrafi on Thursday said that the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee (RHC) took the right decision regarding the announcement of Eid today.

Maulana Ashrafi stressed that it was not a wrong decision to celebrate Eid on Thursday as the announcement was made by the RHC in line with the Shariah, adding that believers are not required to observe a qaza fast. 

According to a report by Geo.tv, Ashrafi's remarks came in response to former RHC Chairman Mufti Muneeb ur Rehman's statement in which he urged believers to observe a qaza fast in lieu of Ramadan 30.

Mufti Muneeb ur Rehman had also asked those who observed aitkaaf to perform a qaza for that along with a fast, adding that he too would be fasting on Friday to make up for the missed roza.

The issue of moonsighting had also become controversial after a leaked video started making rounds on social media in which Mufti Yaseen Zafar, a member of the Central RHC, could be seen talking on the phone with someone and saying that the committee announced eid "in a bid to show unity."

Shedding light upon the delay in announcing the sighting of the moon, Ashrafi said that the process was delayed as the information related to the sighting of the moon was being verified by the Darul Ifta (fatwa department) Pakistan.

"The whole nation, including those who doubted the news of moon sighting, celebrated the Eid today," said Ashrafi. "People who had rejected the announcement agreed to it later in line with the Islamic principles (Shariah) and not due to politics."

He said that the moon is visible today, which is proof that the decision of the RHC was correct.

On Wednesday night, the session of the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee to sight the moon, chaired by Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, went on for hours. At about 11:30pm, Maulana Azad announced that Eid would be observed in Pakistan on Thursday, May 13, adding that evidence of moon sighting has been received from Balochistan and other areas which the committee accepted in line with the Shariah.

Following the announcement, Prime Minister Imran Khan's Special Representative for Interfaith Harmony Maulana Tahir Ashrafi had said that the government had "fulfilled its promise to the nation of celebrating Eid on the same day throughout the country."

"There was a delay but we gave the people the gift of a singular Eid," he said.

Ashrafi added that the decisions on testimonies were made "in accordance with the Shariah".

"The entire nation will celebrate Eid together after 20 years," he had said.