LAHORE, Nov 8: The four-day annual Tableeghi congregation will begin at Raiwind, about 30 kilometres from here, on Thursday (today) with hundreds of thousands of people from all parts of Pakistan and abroad, including India and Bangladesh.

Elaborate arrangements have been made for the congregation at about five kilometres from Raiwind where a tent village, about one kilometre long and half a kilometre wide, has been erected with a large dais at the centre for the ulema to address the audience.

The venue has been divided, as usual, into various sectors, each belonging to a group of districts from all over the country. Special enclosures have been provided for the foreign delegates where arrangements have been made for their boarding and lodging. They have come from about 50 countries. PIA and some other private airlines have carried them from different countries to Lahore airport from where they travelled about 50 kilometers to reach Raiwind by road. The Railways have also run special trains for the devotees from Karachi, Quetta, Sukkur, Multan, and Peshawar. —Reporter