Every year there is a controversy over the Eid moon sighting in Pakistan due to some witnesses suddenly appearing two hours after sunset (after the moon has been sighted in Saudi Arabia). This year the moon surprisingly caused a controversy due to its appearance when there was practically no chance of its doing so.
The Saudis had announced beforehand that Eid would be celebrated on Monday, probably because of the solar eclipse on the twenty ninth day of Ramazan. But then they found that the new moon could be visible for eight minutes after sunset. Knowing that most Muslims would be involved in stuffing themselves at the time to break their fasts, they asked foreigners particularly to scan the heavens and report if they saw the moon. So, many people saw it, not only in Saudi Arabia, but also in the UAE and Qatar. Which is why this year too, Eid will be celebrated a day earlier in the Middle East than Pakistan and India.
I knew that this could happen, because the Bohris also have their Eid today. Their Egyptian calendar always has Eid on those days as Saudi Arabia, probably because they devised it with Makkah as the focal place. Anyway, it's almost certain that the moon will be sighted in Pakistan today, and since it will be 27 hours old, it will seem to be much larger, which will probably cause illiterates to say that our Eid too should also have been today.
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