After Pahalgam attack, India likely to suspend Beating Retreat ceremony at Attari Border

India is likely to issue formal orders to suspend the long-standing Beating Retreat ceremony at the Attari border in Punjab's Amritsar, India Today reported citing sources. Immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit port was among the many measures announced after a meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-chaired Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). 

The development comes after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced on Wednesday that the integrated checkpost at Attari will be closed with immediate effect. "Those who have crossed over with valid endorsements may return through that route before 1st May 2025," he added.

Local restaurant owners near Attari border have backed the Centre's decision to close the border. 

“We welcome PM Modi government’s decision. We are Indians and it is good that action is taken. We feel that this message was necessary. Whatever happened in Pahalgam was shocking," one of the local restaurant owners told India Today. 

Since 1959, Beating Retreat ceremony has taken place at the border every year and is performed jointly by India's Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers. This, however, is not the first time that the ceremony has been suspended. 

As part of this ceremony, soldiers from both sides perform synchronised drills and lower flags before sunset. It features peaceful gestures like handshakes and flagpole height contests. The ceremony draws around 50,000 tourists daily, especially from October to March. 

Before this, the ritual has been suspended two times -- after the 2014 Wagah suicide bombing and the capture of Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman in 2019. Moreover, the Wagah border has been a critical trade route between India and Pakistan.

India's exports to Pakistan such as soybean, chicken feed, vegetables, red chillies, plastic dana, and plastic yarn go through this route. Many traders, particularly in Punjab, rely on the trade route for daily or weekly shipments of basic commodities. 

In 2023-24, the land port trade via the border stood at ₹3,886.53 crore and comprised 6,871 cargo movements as well 71,563 passenger crossings, as per The Times of India. 

(With inputs from Jitendra Singh, Mir Fareed)