India-Pakistan tensions: Beating Retreat ceremony at Attari-Wagah border to resume after 12-day break

After a 12-day suspension prompted by heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, the Beating Retreat ceremony is set to resume on Tuesday (May 20) at the Attari-Wagah border in Amritsar, Punjab, and the Hussainiwala border in Ferozepur.

While the ceremony will recommence, it will do so without the customary symbolic handshake between the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers, and the gates between the two nations will remain closed during the event.

What is the Beating Retreat ceremony?

The Beating Retreat ceremony is a daily event that the security forces of India (Border Security Force) and Pakistan (Pakistan Rangers) have jointly followed since 1959. It includes a symbolic handshake between the Indian Guard Commander and their Pakistani counterparts.

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Alongside this, the Indian flag is lowered every evening by BSF troops in synchronisation with Pakistan Rangers at the joint check posts located at Attari (Amritsar district) opposite Pakistan’s Wagah, Hussainiwala in Ferozepur district across Ganda Singh Wala and at Sadki in Fazilka district.

India’s Border Security Force (BSF) scaled down the daily military ceremony on April 24 following the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 individuals, mostly tourists.

Why was the Beating Retreat Ceremony halted?

The Resistance Front, known to be an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, had initially claimed responsibility for the attack, before rescinding its statement and blaming the earlier message on a cyberattack.

In response, India launched “Operation Sindoor” on May 7, targeting nine locations associated with terrorist groups in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The operation led to a significant spike in tensions between the two nations.

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On May 8, the ceremony was completely halted as India-Pakistan conflict continued to simmer in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. The BSF had stopped public entry for this event at three locations– Attari, Hussainiwala and Sadki– in view of “public safety”.

The flag was being lowered each day by BSF troops since May 8 but only the public entry was cancelled, PTI cited officials as saying.

With inputs from PTI