Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Fawad Chaudhry has recommended disbanding the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, reconfirming that Eid-ul-Azha will fall on August 12 in Pakistan.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, he said that the central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, headed by chairman Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman should be abolished, saying he has requested the cabinet in this regard.
The minister said Lunar Calendar would be presented before the Federal Cabinet for approval and its implementation across the country officially.
He said initially the calendar had been prepared for a period of five years as more research was underway, which would introduce more modern techniques in coming years.
The minister, who recently returned from Iran after attending the conference of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), said he had also planned to send the calendar to Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to adopt it as first-ever joint calendar of the Islamic world.
Accordingly, he said, a letter would be sent to the Foreign Office for onward submission of the calendar to the OIC as he received a good response from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates authorities under this initiative.
Highlighting importance of switching over to science and technology-based developments, Fawad said efforts were being made to collaborate with Turkey, America, Russia and other developed countries.
“Third world countries can’t progress without getting benefit of progress made in science and technology,” he said.
Chaudhry Fawad said the ministry had completed initial work to introduce a system under which payments against all kind of shopping and utility bills would be made through a cellular phone application.
