Federal Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has once again demanded for the dissolution of the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee

He said Eidul Fitr will be on Sunday (May 24) but the Committee wants it to be on Monday. The Minister said he will hold a press conference on Friday to highlight all the necessary information.

According to details, the Federal Minister for Science and Technology in a statement has demanded that the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee should be abolished as there is no need for the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee in the modern age of science.

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.