Watch: ‘Scaled down’ BSF retreat ceremony at Attari-Wagah after Pahalgam attack
The BSF said these steps reflected “India's serious concern over cross-border hostilities and reaffirms that peace and provocation cannot coexist.”
The Border Security Force (BSF) on Thursday said it has “scaled down” the retreat ceremony held at Attari, Hussainiwala and Sadki along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab in the wake of the terrorist attack at Pahalgam that killed 26 people.
“In the wake of the recent tragic attack in Pahalgam, a calibrated decision has been taken to scale down the ceremonial display during the Retreat Ceremony at Attari, Hussainiwala and Sadki in Punjab,” the Border Security Force (BSF) said on Thursday.
Watch the video here
As part of a “calibrated decision”, the force said it was “suspending” the symbolic handshake of the Indian guard commander with its counterpart and the border gates will remain closed during the ceremony.
The BSF said these steps reflected “India's serious concern over cross-border hostilities and reaffirms that peace and provocation cannot coexist.”
Other daily drills, including the flag-lowering ceremony, will continue as usual, and common people will be allowed to witness the routine as usual.
The biggest routine occurs at the Attari land border check post among the three locations. It is located about 26 km from Amritsar, opposite Wagah in Pakistan. In Punjab, smaller ceremonies occur at Hussainiwala (Ferozepur district) and Sadki (Abohar district).
Another event takes place at a land border point at Suchetgarh in Jammu without the presence of locals.
A tourist attraction
Hundreds of domestic and foreign tourists on either side of the border attend the occasion. Smartly dressed BSF personnel and Pakistan Rangers conduct the drill in synchronised fashion.
India and Pakistan have held a daily flag-lowering ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border since 1959. The event usually lasts around 45 to 50 minutes.
Soldiers from both countries perform the ceremony in a highly coordinated and energetic display. It includes loud marching, strong body movements, and patriotic songs played on both sides of the border.
The ceremony was paused for a few months during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BSF guards India's international border (IB) with Pakistan, while the Indian Army guards the Line of Control (Loc) in J&K. BSF's Punjab frontier, with its headquarters in Jalandhar, guards 532 km of this front out of the total 2,200 km.
