Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Thursday said top scholar of Indian Tabligh Jamaat Maulana Saad Kandhalvi will not join the 53rd Biswa Ijtema, beginning on Friday.

He disclosed the decision while talking to reporters after a meeting with the Sura members of Bangladesh Tabligh Jamaat and five members of ‘Alem Advisory Committee’ at his ministry, reports the UNB.

Asaduzzaman said the first phase of Biswa Ijtema will begin on Friday as usual in a peaceful manner. ‘The two feuding groups reached an understanding that Saad Kandhalvi won’t attend the Ijtema. He’ll go back to India at his convenient time. He’ll stay at Kakrail Mosque until his departure,’ he said.

Bangladesh Tabligh Jamaat will decide who will conduct the concluding munajat of the Ijtema, the minister said while responding to a query from reporters.

Earlier on Wednesday, a large number of Tabligh Jamaat men put barricade on Airport Road intersection from 12 noon to 4:30 pm protesting the arrival of the Indian Tabligh Jamaat scholar to take part in the Biswa Ijtema following his controversial comments about religious issues, creating huge tailbacks in the area.

He was scheduled to join the first phase of the 53rd Biswa Ijtema, the second largest congregation of the Muslim community after holy hajj, to be held on January 12-14 on the bank of the Turag River in Tongi.