CHANDIGARH, May 20: After a 12-day suspension, the iconic Beating Retreat ceremony is set to resume on Tuesday, May 20, at three border points in Punjab, including the Attari-Wagah border. The ceremony was halted amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the Indian Armed Forces’ launch of Operation Sindoor—a mission aimed at destroying terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
The Border Security Force (BSF) has decided to reopen the flag-lowering ceremony for public viewing at Attari (Amritsar district), Hussainiwala (Ferozepur district), and Sadki (Fazilka district), all located along the Pakistan frontier, reported PTI. Every evening, the Indian flag is lowered in synchronization by BSF troops alongside Pakistan Rangers at these joint check posts.
However, the ceremony resuming today will be curtailed as BSF troops will not shake hands with their Pakistan Rangers counterparts, and the gates will remain closed during the flag-lowering process, as declared earlier.
Since May 8, the flag had been lowered daily by BSF troops, but public entry was cancelled due to concerns over “public safety.” The decision to suspend public viewing was taken in the wake of rising tensions after the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives.
Operation Sindoor was launched as a bold response to this attack. Indian Armed Forces targeted and destroyed terror bases at nine locations across Pakistan and POK, reportedly killing over 100 terrorists. Following this, Pakistan escalated tensions with drone and missile attacks on both civilian and military targets in India, receiving a swift and decisive reply from Indian forces.
The Indian Air Force bypassed and jammed Pakistan’s Chinese-supplied air defense system and inflicted heavy damage on air and military bases ranging from Nur Khan to Sargodha. After three days of intense conflict, Islamabad reached out to India with a ceasefire request, which India accepted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first address to the nation following Operation Sindoor, emphasized that the operation was not just a military strike but represented a doctrinal shift and a firm policy stance against terrorism that India intends to uphold.
The Beating Retreat ceremony has long been a symbolic event demonstrating the shared history and complex relationship between India and Pakistan, with the flag lowering synchronized by both nations’ forces at the border since 1959. The ceremony had previously been suspended during times of heightened conflict, including the 2014 Wagah suicide bombing and the 2019 Pulwama attack.
