PESHAWAR, Oct 27: The MMA government on Monday demanded that Ruet-i-Hilal Committee chairman Prof Mufti Muneebur Rehman be removed immediately.

The government said the chairman had made the announcement about the Ramazan moon in haste, causing misunderstanding and confusion among people.

Auqaf and Religious Affairs Minister Hafiz Akhtar Ali, who had attended the Ruet-i-Hilal committee meeting, told a press conference at the Chief Minister’s House that Mufti Rehman had made a one-sided decision.

A member of the committee, Maulana Hassan Jan, said: “I disagree with the chairman’s decision” and added that he would resign if Prof Muneeb presided over the next meeting.

Criticizing the chairman, the minister said the faithful were divided whether to begin fasting on Monday.

“Prof Muneeb was adamant to accept credible witnesses about the sighting of moon,” he said. “Two members of the central committee, including myself, insisted that the chairman should delay the announcement, but the chairman did not listen to the arguments, he regretted.

Hafiz Akhtar Ali said that after the announcement had been made on radio and television, the head of the Ruet-i-Hilal Committee in Qalat, Amin Halimi, informed the committee that three reliable persons had sighted the moon.

The minister said they had also received reports from Bannu, Hangu and Swabi, confirming the sighting of the Ramazan moon.

He said Mufti Muneeb ignored arguments of committee members Maulana Hassan Jan and Qari Shabbir Ahmad Kakakhel, and was reluctant to review his decision.

“After receiving valid reports, we were constrained on religious grounds to inform the faithful through respective police stations late in the night to observe fast on Monday,” he said.