Large number of Muslim devotees from Pakistan joined mass prayers on Sunday at the concluding session of the three-day 45th Biswa Ijtema (World Congregation) attended by over two million devotees along the banks of the Turag river at Tongi north of Dhaka city.
This year, a record figure of 10,500 foreign devotees from Muslim and other countries including Pakistan joined the Ijtema, considered the second largest congregation of Muslims after the annual Haj in Saudia Arabia.
Prayers were also made seeking stability and welfare of Pakistan on the occasion. Indian imam Moulana Jubayerul Hassan led the concluding prayers seeking divine blessings for the Muslim ummah and its well being and for global peace and prosperity.
The 18-minute prayers began at about 1.15pm with tens of thousands of devotees raising their hands from all around the venue. President Professor Dr Iajuddin Ahmed, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Khaleda Zia attended the prayers from different locations along with their respective ministers, MPs, party leaders and other personnel.
The participating devotees, old and young, filled up the Ijtema ground as well as the roads from Biswa Road bus stand to Cherag Ali Market in Tongi, turned the whole area into a human sea.
Earlier after Fajr prayers, Moulana Jamir Uddin delivered special sermon to the people. Moulana Sayad Ahmad announced schedules for the next year's programmes of Tabligh Jamaat. Special security measures had been taken to ensure safety of the devotees.
Tablig Jamaat organised the Biswa Ijtema, which began on Friday with over 1.5 million devotees offering the Friday prayers at the venue, 25 km off Dhaka. Hasan Arif, a devotee from Karachi, said that Bangladesh deserved praise for smooth holding of such a huge congregation.