PESHAWAR - Peshawar High Court (PHC) Tuesday issued notices to chairman Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rahman and federal government in a writ petition seeking direction to the federal government to dissolve the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee.
A two-member bench of the Chief Justice PHC Justice Waqar Ahmad Seith and Justice Abdul Shakoor issued the notice to Mufti Muneeband federal government directing to submit reply before May 30, 2019.
The court issued notice on the petition filed by a citizen Shahid Orakzai, in which he questioned the official declaration of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee about the start of the month of Ramazan and challenged its Quranic knowhow for regulating the Hijri calendar.
A special notice was also given in the petition, which noted that the petition involves a serious breach of the state religion wherein the majority of the Muslims citizens did commit a lapse in relation to their duty in Ramazan primarily due to the self-centered and ego-centric chairman of the committee.
About the facts of the case, it was submitted that the respondent chairman has once again plunged Pakistan into religious controversy by delaying the start of the fasting month of Ramazan for 24 hours. It said that for all practical purposes the unaccounted 24 hours shall remain part of the month of Ramazan.
He does not rely on any scientific equipment for determining the length of any lunar month nor has he anything to do with any lunar calendar being drawn by the federal government,” the petitioner stated.
It stated that the petition is for averting any wrong pronouncement by the respondent chairman about the Shawal moon and seek a declaration from the high court about the lapse regarding the Ramazan moon.