The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee on Thursday announced that the Shawwal moon has not been sighted, hence Eid-ul-Fitr will fall on Saturday, April 22.
The announcement was made by the Chairman Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, Moulana Syed Muhammad Abdul Khabeer Azad. The announcement means that Saturday will be observed as the first day of the holy festival of Eid-ul-Fitr, while Friday will be of great significance as well because it will be celebrated as Jumma-tul-Wida.
Shortly after the announcement was made, the Ministry of Religious Affairs issued a notification stating that Shawwal 1, 1444 AH would commence from Saturday.
The federal government has already declared a five-day holiday for Eid-ul-Fitr. The holidays will be observed from Friday (April 21) to Tuesday (April 25).
It is pertinent to mention here that the Ruet-i-Hilal Research Council (RHRC) stated earlier this month that Eid-ul-Fitr is most likely to be celebrated on April 22, explaining that even though the committees will meet on the evening of April 20, the odds of being able to see the moon are slim.
