ISLAMABAD, Nov 13: The Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee on Saturday announced that the Shawwal moon had been sighted and Eidul Fitr would be celebrated on Sunday.
Committee chairman Mufti Muneebur Rehman made the announcement on PTV on the basis of evidences received from different parts of the country.
He said that Ruet committees at provincial, districts and tehsil levels had confirmed the sighting of the Shawwal moon in various areas of the country.
MESSAGES: President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have urged the nation to promote peace to eliminate sectarianism, extremism and terrorism from the society.
In his message on Eidul Fitr, President General Pervez Musharraf urged the nation to strive for fostering unity, love and brotherhood in accordance with Islam's teachings of enlightenment to rid the society of sectarianism and extremism.
The president offered his greetings and said: "On this day, we should pray to Allah Almighty He may enable us to imbibe Islam's teachings of enlightenment in their proper perspectives.
Expressing the need to follow Islamic teachings, he urged the nation to foster mutual brotherhood and unity, shun extremism and terrorism and "move forward on the path of progress and prosperity".
"That indeed is the right path which can lead the Muslims today to regain their past glory," he added.
"On the auspicious occasion of Eidul Fitr, I offer my heartfelt greetings to the Muslims all over the world in general and the people of Pakistan in particular.
"It is my earnest prayer that Allah Almighty may bestow upon us the ability to develop an enlightened understanding so that every day for us becomes a day of happiness and glory like the Eid."
In a separate message to the nation, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz asked the people to spread the teachings of Islam that promote peace and love and continue their fight against the twin menaces of terrorism and extremism till they are fully eliminated.
Extending his heartiest greetings, the Prime Minister urged the people to follow the Hadith in its true spirit by promoting an enlightened and moderate Islam "to create a world of our own".
"Let's revisit our way of thinking and deeds and fulfil our responsibilities in this regard. Stand up to hatred and tyranny with full might and spread the teachings of Islam that promote peace and love for all," he added.
He said the nation was celebrating Eid at a time which offered both, new opportunities and new challenges.
Highlighting the government's efforts to achieve economic stability, the prime minister said that the country had made "significant progress in all spheres of life, be it defence, economy, communication, agriculture or industry".
He urged the nation to sustain the pace of progress and said: "We can confront these challenges effectively."
"For this we need to set certain targets and make all-out efforts to achieve them."
"One should keep this in mind that if we are to face the challenges of the present time, we will have to adopt a collective approach with a belief that survival of an individual is linked with national unity," he added.
He said that people were also required to keep pace with the fast growing world.
The Prime Minister prayed to Allah Almighty to make the patience, tolerance, piety and sacrifice as permanent part of every Muslim's life.-APP
