Daily Times

PESHAWAR: Peshawarities remain uncertain about Eidul Fitr today (Sunday) as Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai remains inaccessible since Friday afternoon.

Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai is the main face behind the Masjid Qasim Ali Khan’s local Ruet-e-Hilal (moon sighting) committee in Peshawar that always comes in conflict with Pakistan’s central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee on the sighting of moon for the months of Ramazan and Shawal. Many people have been continuously trying to access the mufti for his plans regarding the local committee’s meeting about sighting of Shawal (Eidul Fitr) moon. However, all his known cell numbers are switched off since Friday afternoon.

Interestingly, his second in command, Maulana Khairul Bashar, has also gone missing, as he too cannot be reached on any of his contact numbers since Saturday.

“No one exactly knows where Mufti Popalzai or his associate is or who have made them disappear but it is clear that some unseen forces don’t want him to continue his practice of announcing Eid a day before the federal government,” a religious scholar associated with Popalzai’s committee informed Daily Times on the condition of anonymity.

Some believe that Mufti Popalzai might have been kept under house arrest by police in a bid to stop him from announcing Eid. Another view regarding the disappearance of Mufti Popalzai is that he has ‘gone’ to Dubai.

A small protest was staged by some people in Peshawar’s Qissa Khwani Bazaar near the Masjid Qasim Ali Khan where Mufti Popalzai used to have his committee meetings. The people demanded the ‘release’ of Mufti Popalzai.

A meeting of the local Ruet-e-Hilal committee that was scheduled to take place at Masjid Qasim Ali Khan on Saturday evening had also been cancelled. The committee said the meeting was cancelled because Mufti Popalzai was out of the country and could not chair the meeting. A Peshawar-based local journalist claimed that Mufti Popalzai was in hiding and would most probably reappear just at the ‘right time’ to hold the meeting of his committee. “I am in contact with people close to him. They say Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai was hiding to avoid arrest and will resurface to announce Eid if there were any witnesses,” said the journalist, requesting not to be named.

In another development, Maulana Amanat Shah, general secretary of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Mardan chapter, told the media that they had set up three different committees for gathering witnesses of the moon sighting. The committee, consisting of Maulana Amanat Shah, Qari Ihsan, Abdul Hadi and Maulana Nadeem decided that they would offer Eid prayers in the sessions court in protest. “If any of the committees’ members are arrested, the second and third committee will take responsibility, respectively. If [members of] all three committees are arrested, not a single religious scholar will lead the Eid prayers in Mardan,” Maulana Amanat Shah said. Most people in Peshawar and other cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa observed their first fast of Ramazan on May 27, a day before the federal government, and Saturday June 24 marked their 29th day of fasting. It is most unlikely that the people will agree to completing 30 days of fasting.

Published in Daily Times, June 25th, 2017.