A scaled-down version of the iconic Beating Retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border between India and Pakistan is set to resume from today, sources said.

The ceremony was briefly halted in the wake of the deadly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.

While the ceremony will go ahead, it will do so under altered protocols — without the symbolic opening of border gates or the customary handshake between the Border Security Force (BSF) of India and Pakistan Rangers. However, audiences will be allowed to witness the ceremony from the Indian side, albeit under heightened security arrangements.

The beating retreat ceremony has been a custom between the two countries since 1959. As per standard protocol, every evening the border gates are opened by both forces at the Attari-Wagah border during the ceremony and also the customary handshake takes place, but the BSF chose to send a strong message post Pahalgam attack.

However, the ceremony was halted after the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists, in Jammu and Kashmir.

The tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after Indian forces launched precision airstrikes under Operation Sindoor targeting terror infrastructure across the Line of Control, including areas in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK).

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