Just a day after the speculation went viral on social media that the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) government has reportedly decided to abolish the decades-old Central Ruet-e-Hilal (moon sighting) committee, the government has come up with a denial.
Spokesman of the ministry of Religious Affairs dismissed the reports on Tuesday stating that no such discussions were going on.
“The government had not decided to disband the committee; it` rather instructed it to collaborate closely with Pakistan Meteorological Department,” it said.
The spokesman further said that any such moves would require approval from the parliament and that the ministry could not single-handedly decide to discontinue the committee.
A media report on Monday claimed, citing government sources, that it had decided to task Met department with the moon sighting as it was scientifically capable of the task.
However, it turns out that this was one of the ‘fake news’ our media has been a prey of these days.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s government had established this committee in 1974 through a resolution in National Assembly. The committee has since been functioning at both federal and district levels.
There has been no formal legislation since its establishment, and probably, this is why the parliamentary committee on religious affairs had raised questions on the legal status of the committee.
Via: Tribune