Beating Retreat ceremony for public to resume on Tuesday
The BSF on May 8 had stopped public entry for this event at these three locations in view of “public safety”. The decision was taken a day after India destroyed nine terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir under Operation Sindoor, a retaliatory military offensive against the April 22 Pahalgam attack.
Beating Retreat ceremonies at all three border checkposts in Punjab on the India-Pakistan international border--Attari-Wagah (Amritsar), Hussainwala (Ferozepur) and Sadki (Fazilka)—will resume from Tuesday onwards, the BSF officials said on Monday.
However, the ceremony will be curtailed as BSF troops will not shake hands with Pakistan Rangers, and the gates will not be opened during the flag-lowering process as declared earlier, they said.
It is important to mention that the flag was being lowered each day by BSF troops since May 8 but only the public entry was cancelled, the officials clarified.
The BSF on May 8 had stopped public entry for this event at these three locations in view of “public safety”. The decision was taken a day after India destroyed nine terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir under Operation Sindoor, a retaliatory military offensive against the April 22 Pahalgam attack.
The announcement came big respite for villages near the Attar-Wagah border whose livelihood depended on tourists who came to see the Beating Retreat ceremony and also trade.
The Indian flag is lowered every evening by BSF troops in synchronisation with Pakistan Rangers at the joint check posts located at the Attari-Wagah border, Hussainiwala in Ferozepur district across Ganda Singh Wala and at Sadki in Fazilka district.
Earlier, the ceremony remained suspended during the 2014 Wagah suicide bombing and post Pulwama attack on CRPF personnel in 2019.
The beating retreat ceremony is a daily ritual, taking place since 1959, and is performed every evening before sunset, jointly by BSF and Pakistan Rangers. The drill involves synchronised stomps, high-kicks, and theatrical standoffs between soldiers, before culminating with a coordinated lowering of the flags and a handshake between commanders of both forces.
