The Border Security Force has announced that the retreat ceremony will resume at all three joint check posts along the Punjab frontier starting today. According to the BSF, the ceremony will be open exclusively to media persons today, and will be resumed for the general public from tomorrow.
The retreat ceremonies at Atari, Hussainiwala, and Sadqi had been suspended for the public on the 8th of this month. The decision to suspend the retreat ceremony was taken a day after India conducted Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The Border Security Force (BSF), however, has said that the gates between the two nations will remain shut on the Indian side. There will be no ceremonial handshake between the Indian Guard Commander and his counterpart from the Pakistan Rangers after the lowering of flags at sunset, a departure from the usual tradition.
At the same time, farmers with fields across the border fence will be allowed to till their land, but under strict conditions. Sources said BSF officials have held meetings with such farmers in various sectors, and those willing to cultivate their land will be permitted to do so, but under heightened vigilance and for a limited time.