Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai is the khateeb of historical mosque of Peshwar ‘Qasim Ali Khan Mosque’ which was built during Mughal ruler Aurangzeb’s reign.
Mufti is more famously known as the head of the non-governmental and private moon sighting committee of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which meets at the mosque to announce the sighting of the moon.
In Pakistani media Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai is a controversial figure who is usually condemned because of his early announcement of Ramazan & Eid. But in KPK is a known and trusted mufti who is followed by the majority of the province & FATA, except Malakand & Hazara division.
It should be noted that he is only the head of the private committee of KPK which compromises of other known scholars from the province. They make their announcement on the bases of sightings by people from all around KPK who voluntarily visit the committee to report the sighting.
This division on sighting is not a unique thing in Pakistan other Muslim countries & communities in western world also face a similar problem. International Hijri Calendar Union Congress met in Istanbul last year and recommended OIC make global sighting and unified calendar for all Muslim world to end the dispute.