The petition was heard by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, who remarked that Eid couldn’t be announced without the actual sighting of the moon.
The petition had been filed by citizen Abdullah Shafiq, who appeared before the court in person. In his plea, the petitioner requested that the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee be directed to make a timely announcement regarding the moon sighting.
He argued that delays in the announcement often result in people offering Taraweeh prayers before learning that Eid has been declared. He further stated that late-night announcements lead to a sudden surge of shoppers in markets, creating crowd management and law and order challenges for the administration.
The petitioner also requested the court to direct authorities to keep markets closed except for shops related to Eid shopping in order to manage crowds.
Responding to the plea, the Chief Justice observed that testimonies regarding moon sighting are first collected from all four provinces before a meeting is convened and a final decision is made, which inevitably takes time. “The announcement can only be made once the moon has actually been sighted,” he said.
The court issued a notice to the Ministry of Religious Affairs and sought a report on the matter.