–Pakistan Meteorological Department had already predicted that Ramzan moon will be sighted on May 16
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had already predicted that the Ramzan moon will be sighted on May 16 and scientifically and the first day of the holy month will be on May 17, but the controversial Ruet-e Hilal Committee (RHC) spent Rs1 million to see the moon in Karachi, Pakistan Today has learned.
Well-placed sources in the Ministry of Religious Affairs revealed that the total cost of the RHC’s meeting was Rs1 million which was held on Wednesday at Met Office Karachi.
The RHC was established in 1974 through a parliamentary resolution and has been working since then at both central and district levels without any legal or constitutional status. The committee is already a controversial entity as its legal status was questioned at many forums when members were appointed on a political basis.
RHC Chairman Mufti Muneebur Rehman, along with its 23 members, assembled in Karachi on May 15 as the Ministry of Religious Affairs paid their expenses from transport to accommodation and others, sources close to the development told Pakistan Today.
According to sources, the cost of each member was slated at Rs40,000 which includes air ticket of each member, transport, phone, meal and accommodation charges.
The members were accommodated in Darul Harman Hotel in Karachi with Rs5,000 being the cost for each room. The committee members were allowed to get Rs28,000 to Rs33,000 air tickets in economy class which will be reimbursed by the religious ministry. Each member enjoyed a meal of Rs5,000, Rs1,000 in phone charges and Rs1,000 in transport charges.
“This futile exercise has been going on since the establishment of RHC which is totally political,” said the sources, who believe that the ministry has already prepared a draft to regularise the committee and the draft is still pending in the National Assembly (NA).
According to the Met Office’s readings, the age of the new moon will be 26 hours and 45 minutes at the time of sighting on May 16.
“The country is already facing the worst financial crisis and such expenses are an increased burden on the national exchequer,” remarked an official of the ministry, who wished not to be named.
Badshahi Masjid Imam Maulana Abdul Khair Azad, who is a member of the committee, was seen at the ministry on Monday, confirming from the ministry’s official whether it will reimburse him the accommodation charges if he hires his own accommodation. However, the ministry’s official told him that the ministry will only reimburse to only those members who will avail the ministry’s accommodation.
The cleric also complained that this year, the PIA charged him Rs33,000 for an air ticket to Karachi which usually costs Rs25,000-26,000.
When contacted, Ministry of Religious Affairs Director General Research Noor Salam, who supervises the affairs, confirmed that the total cost of the RHC’s meeting was around Rs1 million. However, he claimed that the venue in Karachi was decided because of fewer expenses. “The cost of the meeting in Islamabad is too high as compared to Karachi which is around Rs1.5 million, therefore, the ministry decided to conduct the meeting in Karachi so that the expenses could be reduced,” said the official.