Eidul Fitr will be celebrated in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and several countries in Europe on Sunday as the Shawwal moon was sighted on Saturday, DawnNews reported.

The Saudi royal court announced that the first day of Shawwal would fall on Sunday, according to local media reports.

In Pakistan, the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee will convene a moon-sighting meeting on Sunday. The government has already announced three holidays for Eidul Fitr, from June 26-28.

The Meteorological Office has also forecast that Eidul Fitr will fall on June 26, as the Shawwal crescent is expected to be visible in the country on Sunday, June 25.

'Controversial' moon-sighting committee says Eid tomorrow in Peshawar, parts of KP

Earlier, the government had decided to hold a meeting of the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee in Peshawar in an attempt to avoid any controversy over the moon-sighting, but later the venue was shifted from the provincial capital to Islamabad, reported DawnNews.

However, a controversial moon sighting committee at mosque Qasim Ali Khan in Peshawar announced on Saturday that the city and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would observe Eidul Fitr on Sunday.

Maulana Samiullah Jan Farooqi told journalists after the meeting that the 12-member committee had received 54 witness accounts regarding sighting of the moon across the province, of which 41 had been verified.

Commenting on the development in Peshawar, a spokesperson for the federal Ministry of Religious Affairs said that the moon-sighting committee meeting in Qasim Ali Khan mosque was not a legitimate platform.

He said that a few people could not take decisions on behalf of the nation and added that the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee would hold a meeting on Sunday to sight the moon.

With an exception of last year, it has become common for people in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to observe Eid on the same day as those in Saudi Arabia.

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