LAHORE, Nov 16: Four-day annual congregation of Tableeghi Jamaat begins at Raiwind on Thursday (today) with hundreds of thousands of people from all parts of the country and a large number of delegates from all over the world participating in it. Large contingents have come from India and Bangladesh by road.

The congregation this year is being held in a serene and somber mood as a large number of people from the earthquake affected areas of the NWFP and Azad Jammu and Kashmir will not be attending it due to their displacement from their houses and lack of transport facilities as most of the areas are still cut off from the rest of the country due to landslides and road cuts. Hundreds of members of Tableeghi teams touring the affected areas on Oct 8 last were reported to be missing as they had not reported back to the main Tableeghi Markaz in Raiwind so far and they were believed to have perished in the earthquake.

Elaborate arrangements have been made for the congregation, about five kilometres from the Raiwind Markaz, over an area of about 150 acres of a farm where a big ‘pandal’, about one kilometre long and half a kilometre wide, has been erected with a large stage at the centre for ulema to address the audience. The venue has been divided, as usual, into 18 sectors each belonging to a group of districts from all over the country. Special enclosures have been provided for foreign delegates where arrangements have been made for their boarding and lodging. They have come from about 40 countries.

PIA and some other private airlines have carried them from different countries to Lahore airport from where they travelled about 50 kilometres to reach Raiwind.

The Pakistan Railways have also run special trains for the devotees from Karachi, Quetta, Sukkur, Multan, and Peshawar. The same trains will take them back to their respective destinations on the conclusion of the moot on Sunday.

The Railways and PIA authorities have opened special counters at the venue of the congregation to facilitate the people. Wapda has also made elaborate arrangements for uninterrupted supply of power to the main ‘pandal’ and the adjoining improvized commercial centres where hundreds of stalls and shops have been set up for selling eatables, cloth, garments, books etc. A large number of tubewells have been sunk to provide water round-the-clock for drinking, cooking, ablution and toilet purposes. Hundreds of toilets have been provided with adequate sewerage and drainage facilities.

The Pakistan Red Crescent Society and numerous social welfare agencies have set up dispensaries for providing first aid and necessary drugs to the people attending the moot. Al-Rashid Trust has set up four medical camps.

Jamaat Al-Dawah and Khidmat-i-Islami have also set up separate medical camps and relief camps for earthquake affected people.

Special arrangements have been made for parking of vehicles at quite a long distance from the venue of the congregation and the people coming by buses and cars have to cover the distance on foot with bags and baggage. Separate parking lots have been provided for buses coming from different places and special lots for motor cars and motor cycles and scooters.

Ulema from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and some other countries will be addressing various sessions of the congregation during four days of the moot. The first session will be held after Maghrib prayers to be addressed by Pakistan amir of the jamaat Maulana Abdul Wahab.

Arrangements have been made for rendering Urdu sermons into various languages for the facility of foreign delegates.

Special sermons will be held for students, ulema and intellectuals. Hundreds of Tableeghi teams will be formed during the congregation. They will be dispatched to various places within Pakistan and abroad after the moot.

On last day, Sunday the moot will conclude at the grand prayer scheduled to be held before noon that will be attended by thousands of the people from Lahore and its suburbs.