Beating Retreat ceremony at India-Pakistan border to resume for public from May 21, two weeks after Operation Sindoor

The Border Security Force (BSF) said the public retreat ceremony, which is held at three locations in Punjab along the Pakistan border, will resume on Wednesday (May 21).

While the Jalandhar headquartered Punjab frontier of the force said the ceremony will start today (May 20), it will be exclusive for media persons only. The public can participate in the ceremony tomorrow at 6 pm.

The ceremony will begin two weeks after the Indian Armed Forces carried out Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, after which it was stopped.

The event, which is held daily in the evening at Attari, Hussainiwala and Sadki, will be curtailed as BSF troops will not shake hands with Pakistani Rangers, the officials said. Moreover, the gates will not be opened during the flag-lowering part of the ceremony, as stated earlier.

The officials clarified that the flag was being lowered every day by BSF troops despite public entry being stopped at the three locations on May 8 for “public safety” following Operation Sindoor.

Operation Sindoor

On May 7, the Indian Armed Forces carried out airstrikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), targeting terror sites, in response to the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26.

The strikes conducted under Operation Sindoor targeted the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and the Lashkar-e-Taiba Muridke base. India said over 100 terrorists were killed in the operation, including Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudasir Ahmed.

Following this, Pakistan launched retaliatory strikes on Indian cities, which led to military confrontations between the two nations. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to stop all military actions.