Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry on Monday said the Ruet-e-Hilal committee should carry out the sighting on voluntary basis. The minister said that up to Rs 4 million is spent on moon-sighting procedure every year, which is not wise. The religious scholars are respectable but they should not charge money to sight moon as this work is done voluntarily around the world, he added.
"Where is the wisdom in spending Rs 4 million on moon sighting for Ramazan and Eid? At least the [Ruet-e-Hilal] committee should do it voluntarily. All around the world, it [the sighting] is done without remuneration," Chaudhry said.
"I respect the Ulema. I have given an opinion. Everyone does not need to agree to it," he added. The minister said the national exchequer is incurring hefty expenses on the moon sighting and that it is time to utilise science and technology for the practice.
"Educated scholars are supporting my suggestion," Chaudhry said, referring to his proposal to form a committee of technical experts to determine moon sighting for key dates and months in the Islamic calendar for the next 10 years.
Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, the chairman of the Ruet-e-Hilal committee, had earlier criticised Chaudhry's suggestion and appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to stop his ministers from commenting on religious matters.