BSF scales down Beating Retreat ceremony; handshake with Pak. soldiers suspended-OxBig News Network

Border Security Force (BSF) personnel stand guard at Integrated Check Post (ICP) after the government of India decides to close the ICP Attari with immediate effect following the Pahalgam terror attack, in Amritsar on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: ANI

With India announcing that it would close the Integrated Check Post in Punjab’s Attari — the land route for passenger movement between India and Pakistan — nationals from both countries were seen returning to their respective countries on Thursday (April 24, 2025).

The Border Security Force (BSF) said it had “scaled down” the Beating Retreat ceremony held at three locations – Attari, Hussainiwala, and Sadki along the Pakistan border in Punjab – in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.

The BSF’s Punjab frontier said in a statement that as part of a “calibrated decision”, it was “suspending” the symbolic handshake of the Indian guard commander with the Pakistan counterpart, and the border gates would remain closed during the ceremony.

These steps, it said, reflected “India’s serious concern over cross-border hostilities and reaffirms that peace and provocation cannot coexist”. The drill will, however, continue and common people will be allowed to witness the daily flag-lowering ceremony, a BSF official said.

Among the three posts, the Attari border front a joint or integrated land border check post, located about 26 km from Amritsar, opposite Wagah in Pakistan, witnesses the maximum crowd.

An official at the Land Port Authority of India at Attari said a movement of around 125 people was registered on Thursday, which includes the arrival of around 100 people from Pakistan and the departure of 25 people from India. “On average, there is a passenger movement of 350-400 people on usual days, but today it was around 125, which is relatively less,” said the official, requesting anonymity.

Pakistani nationals visiting India and Indians from Pakistan were seen returning to their respective countries through the ‘Attari-Wagah’ international border. In the aftermath of the terror strike in Pahalgam that left 26 dead, India on April 23 announced a series of measures. Pakistan nationals have been banned from traveling to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES), and a 48-hour deadline was set up for any Pakistani national currently in India under SVES visa to leave India.

According to data available with the Land Port Authority of India, in 2023-24, there was a passenger movement (arrival and departure) of 71,563 people through ICP at Attari, which is positioned as an important check-point, as Attari-Wagah is the only permissible land route allowed for trade and passenger movement between India and Pakistan. Besides, it serves as an important port for importing goods from Afghanistan into India. India developed its first land port at Attari along the international border between India and Pakistan in 2012. It is aimed at providing secure, seamless and efficient systems for cargo and passenger movement.