The country is celebrating Eidul Fitr on Thursday with religious zeal and fervour amidst Covid-19 measures.
Eid prayers were held at more than 88 places in Multan city. Similarly, big congregations were held in Bahawalpur, Rahimyar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, Sadiqabad, Bahawalnagar, Vehari,Lodhran, Layyah, Khanewal,Sahiwal, Jhang, Bhakkar of South Punjab
Eid prayers were held in open spaces across the country with the implementation of Covid-19 SOPs to avoid the spread of the pandemic.
Special prayers were offered on the occasion for the well being of the country along with prayers for the Muslims of Palestine and Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
In a late-night announcement on Wednesday, the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, which met in Islamabad, declared Eidul Fitr would be celebrated across the country on today as the Shawwal moon had been sighted.
After decades, Pakistani Muslims would observe the holy festival along with their brethren in the rest of the world including those in the Arab nations, the US, Canada and most Southeast Asian countries.
At around 11:30pm, Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad, the committee’s chairman, made the announcement.
“The Shawwal moon has been sighted. Eid will be celebrated tomorrow [Thursday],” he said.
He added that zonal committees had received testimonies from all over the country and the decision was made "unanimously".
"We received testimonies from Chaman, Qilla Saifullah, Peshawar and many other localities including some in Sindh," he explained.
Maulana Azad pointed out that similar to the month of Ramazan, the entire country was celebrating Eid on the same day.
The cleric also asked citizens to pray for the Muslims in Palestine facing Israeli oppression, in view of the recent attack on worshippers at Al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem.
Besides religious scholars from various sects, representatives of the science and technology ministry, the meteorological department and the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) attended the meeting which lasted for four hours.
Separate meetings of zonal and district Ruet committees were also held at their respective regional headquarters.
Earlier on Wednesday evening, there were sightings reported from Swabi in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Dasht and Turbat areas of Balochistan.
Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) leader Senator Sarfraz Bugti tweeted that the moon had been sighted in Sui area of Balochistan's Dera Bugti district by a notable, Haji Islam Bakhlani, sharing his cell phone number.
Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai, Khateeb of the historic Qasim Khan Mosque in Peshawar, had already declared Eidul Fitr would fall on Thursday after claiming to have received 175 testimonies.
"Thursday, May 13, will be the first day of Shawwal," Popalzai announced earlier in the evening, urging the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee to follow suit and accept their testimonies.
Special Assistant to the PM on Interfaith Harmony and Middle East Affairs Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi urged citizens to wait for the committee’s decision, which would be “according to Shariah”, and later after the announcement congratulated the nation on one Eid across the country.
“It took time but the nation received the gift of one Eid,” he wrote on Twitter.
Separately, Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry maintained the age of the Shawwal moon in Pakistan was 13 hours and 42 minutes at present and it was not possible to see the crescent today.
In an effort to curb the transmission of the novel coronavirus, the country’s apex body leading the fight against the deadly pandemic has approved guidelines for the upcoming festival of Eidul Fitr, recommending congregations at open spaces, brief sermons by Ulema and Khateebs, mandatory wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing rules.
The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) gave the nod of approval to the new guidelines during a meeting co-chaired by Planning Minister Asad Umar and Chief Coordinator Lt Gen Hamooduz Zaman Khan.
It has already announced a weeklong Eid holidays, closure of shopping malls and tourist spots, and a ban on inter-city and intra-city public transport.
The slew of new measures were triggered by the third wave of Covid-19, the deadly respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, which saw a spike in fresh infections and deaths.
In its meeting, the NCOC reviewed mobility control measures being implemented countrywide during the Eid holidays stretching from May 8th to 16th. The forum called on people for greater national resolve by adhering to the safety protocols to contain the pandemic.
In a statement after the meeting, the NCOC said that Eid prayers should be organised at open spaces with Covid protocols. If there is a compulsion to offer the prayers in mosques, windows and doors should be kept open for ventilation.
It proposed two to three Eid congregations at one venue with staggered timings to minimise attendance while keeping the Eid sermons brief in order to reduce the prayer timings exposure. The guidelines discourage the sick, the elderly and children under 15 years of age from attending the prayers.
Wearing of face or surgical mask has been made mandatory, while congregation organisers have been asked to arrange multiple entry-exit points at the Eid congregation venues to avoid jumbling up of individuals, install thermal screening at entry points and make hand sanitisers available at the entry-exit points.
Worshippers have been urged to perform Wuzu at home, bring their own prayer mats, observe six-foot social distancing rules at the venue, avoid hugging and handshakes or stay at the venue after the prayers.
The organisers have been told to put up banners at prominent places at the congregation venue, highlighting Covid protocols for worshippers. The guidelines further stipulate that well laid-out parking areas should be prepared for crowd management.
The Eid guidelines have been issued to minimise the risk of the spread of Covid-19 which is raging in the South Asian region. In Pakistan the third wave, fuelled by the UK strain of the novel coronavirus started in March, when the single-day caseload soared past 5,000 during the month of April.
However, since the start of May, daily infections are on the decline, showing that the NCOC measures are yielding results. On Tuesday, the single-day tally remained below 4,000 for third day in a row, but the daily death toll hovered above 100.
According to the daily updates released by NCOC, 3,084 people tested positive for Covid-19, showing a positivity ratio of 7.93%, which was more than 9% in April. It added that the nationwide death toll topped 19,000.
Nationwide active cases declined from more 80,000 on Monday to 78,959 after 4,387 people recovered during the last 24 hours. Among the active cases, 5,353 patients were admitted to various hospitals, including 607 on ventilators.
The NCOC also reported 113 fatalities during the past 24 hours. It said that 95 patients died in hospitals, including 49 on ventilators. Most of the deaths, 67, occurred in Punjab, followed by 29 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The nationwide death toll stood at 19,106.
Vaccination campaign
The NCOC rolled out vaccine in February this year, with frontline health workers getting the jabs on priority. The campaign was gradually expanded to different age groups, starting from the elderly citizens. Currently, the authorities are inoculating people over 40 years of age.
Asad Umar, the NCOC chief, said on Tuesday that the government was coming closer to allowing vaccination of the younger people. “Starting tomorrow, the 12th of May, all 40-plus who have registered will be able to walk into any vaccination center of their choice and get vaccinated. Please note that vaccination centres are open and will only be closing for two days on Eid,” Umar tweeted.
“The risk of death from coronavirus increases with age, therefore, the focus of vaccination campaign is on the protecting the most vulnerable segments of society first. “[That’s the] Reason why we are opening vaccination based on age in descending order,” he added.
Umar said that only 7% of Pakistan’s population is above the age of 60 and 53% of all Covid deaths have been in this age bracket. “Conversely, 77% of Pakistan’s population is below the age of 40 and only 9% of total Covid deaths in Pakistan have been in this age bracket.”
The minister stressed that the government was making "concerted efforts" to increase the supply of vaccines as well as expand the vaccination capacity, adding that the government was opening vaccinations based on age in descending order "due to finite availability of vaccines globally, as well as vaccination capacity in the country".
