ISLAMABAD: Determined to put an end to moon-sighting controversies, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has constituted a five-member committee to foretell key dates and months of the Islamic Calendar.
The committee will design a calendar to “indicate the exact dates of Ramzan, Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha and Muharram for the next five years with 100% accuracy,” said a notification dated May 3, 2019 posted by the minister on his Twitter account earlier today.
The committee comprises Dr Muhammad Tariq Masood (Joint Scientific Adviser, Ministry of Science and Technology), Waqar Ahmad (Lecturer, Meteorology Department, CUI, Islamabad), Nadeem Faisal (Deputy Director, Meteorology Department), Abu Nasan (Deputy Director, Meteorology Department) and Ghulam Murtaza (DCM, SUPARCO, Islamabad).
Questioning the logic behind spending millions – as per his estimates, Rs4 million – for moon-sighting only, the minister held that the Ruet-e-Hilal committee needed to render its services for free.
His statement had prompted a reaction from Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, the chairman of the the Ruet-e-Hilal committee, who appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to stop his ministers from commenting on religious matters. (as it is)
