In a historic development on Tuesday night, North Waziristan reportedly sighted the Shawaal moon, declaring Eid Ul Fitr on Wednesday morning. This is the first declaration of moon sighting 48 hours before the expected appearance on the Ruet App, as announced by former Minister of Science and Technology, Fawad Chaudhry. The North Waziristan police lodged an FIR complaint against Maulana Mufti Rafiullah and other Ulama following the Eid announcement. It was reported that the local Ulama met on Tuesday, 11th of May to observe the new moon. The unofficial committee had received 9 testimonials claiming sightings prior to the meeting. Some sources claim that 30 villages in the region had all sighted the holy moon. KPK police department issued the North Waziristan police to lodge an FIR against all local committee members under the Ihteram Ramazan Ordinance and 16MPO for announcing Eid independently in the district.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police (@KP_Police1) has lodged FIR against Local Committee members including the Maulana in North Waziristan, KP under Ihteram Ramazan Ordinance and 16MPO for announcing Eid in the district on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/7vHA1Z1tEZ
— Tehreek-e-Insaf (@InsafPK) May 11, 2021
What was the reaction of people? Social media users were quick to catch on to the news, showing confusion over the incident. Many were quick to criticize the Ulama, showing discontent over their unilateral approach in declaring Eid and causing confusion throughout the country. Some were quick to defend the Maulana, claiming that mass reports from 30+ villages made it necessary for the committee to sight the moon. Baluchistan has declared Eid separately from the rest of Pakistan on various occasions, oftentimes unifying it with Saudi Arabia.