Floating garbage, ankle-deep water: Pakistani soldiers at Wagah border during Beating Retreat ceremony - Watch

Floods in Pakistan have triggered the evacuation of over1,50,000 people from affected regions in the state of Punjab. Videos of inundated streets and battered infrastructure have been surfacing, with that there are visuals of the Beating Retreat ceremony from the Wagah-Attari border. Piled up garbage in plastic bags floating in muddy water can be seen on the pathway, where the Rangers were performing the regular drill before the culmination, which is the lowering of the flag. From the videos that are going viral, we see a man upping their spirits in ankle-deep water. On the other side, the Indian soldiers can be seen sans floodwater and what netizens are calling better infrastructure.

Even in India, torrential rains have flooded parts of Punjab. Rivers Raavi, Beas and Satlej are causing floods in villages viz. Fazilka, Kapurthala, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, and Ferozepur. District administrations have adviced inhabitants to move to a safe location. Amid the heavy downpour, the alert has gone to 20 villages.

When India and Pakistan were embroiled in cross-border fighting after the dastardly terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam that claimed 26 innocent lives, the Beating Retreat ceremony was paused. It was implemented on May 8, a day after New Delhi launched Operation Sindoor in response to Islamabad's inaction against terror organisations operating on its soil. The conflict went on for four days, in which Pakistan claimed its victory, the country also themed their Independence Day around the fact that they won a war they call ‘Mark-e-Haq’. The country faced heavy losses, the airbases were damaged and the infrastructure used by the terrorists was destroyed.

Also read: India's goodwill alert to Pakistan: 'Exceptionally high' flood risk warning issued

But later on May 20, the ceremony was continued as usual, where onlookers would be seen on both sides seated on stands, cheering for their respective countries.