India-Pakistan tension: Beating Retreat resumes today at Attari, but without handshakes

India will resume the Beating Retreat ceremonies at Amritsar’s Attari border and Ferozepur’s Hussainiwala border on Tuesday, but it will not be conducted as it used to be before its suspension following the Pahalgam terror attack.

The scaled-down version of the ceremony will begin at 6 pm, and unlike before, the gates of the two sides will remain closed, and BSF jawans will not shake hands with Pakistani Rangers, Border Security Forces IG of the Punjab Frontier, Atul Fulzele, has said.

The beating retreat ceremony has been a tradition between the two countries since 1959. According to protocol, both forces open the border gates each evening at the Attari-Wagah crossing, followed by a customary handshake. However, following the Pahalgam attack, the BSF opted to send a strong message by deviating from this practice.

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CDS, Army review border situation

Meanwhile, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi reviewed the situation along the India-Pakistan border in Rajasthan and Kutch. They also took stock of the air defence systems deployed in these regions under Operation Sindoor.

Gen Chauhan inspected the military facilities at Suratgarh and Naliya, while Gen Dwivedi visited Longewala and various forward positions overseen by the Army’s 12 Konark Corps in the desert sector.

‘No expiry date’

Last weekend, the Indian Army rejected reports from Pakistan that the ceasefire between the two countries was valid till May 18, saying that the understanding between the countries to stop military hostilities along the border is open-ended and is not bound by an “expiry date”.

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“As far as continuation of break in hostilities is concerned, as decided in DGMOs (directors general of military operations) interaction of May 12, there is no expiry date to it,” the army said in a statement.

On May 15, the Indian Army announced plans to implement “confidence building measures” (CBMs) along the Pakistan border to “reduce the alertness level,” shortly after Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that the May 10 ceasefire had been extended until May 18.