Pak border force to continue 'aggression' at Wagah

Pakistan's paramilitary border force has done an about-turn on its decision to tone down the flag-lowering ceremony at the Wagah frontier post just a week after saying that it would do away with aggressive gestures and orchestrated boot-stomping that form part of the event.

The Pakistan Rangers will continue their daily parade as part of the flag-lowering and hoisting ceremonies at Wagah in the traditional "enthusiastic style" without any change, except the revival of the formal handshake between personnel of Pakistan and India.

Officials have said that no change has been introduced in the style of the parade and that apprehensions expressed by India's Border Security Force about "hostile gestures" by the Pakistan Rangers are baseless.

A statement issued by the Pakistan Rangers' headquarters said the force was making its position clear in response to Indian "propaganda" about the BSF persuading its Pakistani counterpart to tone down "hostile" gestures during the parade.

Pakistan Rangers official Maj Gen Muhammad Yaqoob Khan said the drill at Wagah will continue in its "traditional way".

He said during the biannual meeting with the Border Security Force held in Lahore last month, it was decided that parade commanders from both sides would shake hands while the rest of the parade would continue in line with the existing practices.

These practices were not gestures of aggression and were just part of drills, Khan contended.

"The drill is the pride of a soldier as he feels proud of it," he said.

However, while addressing a news conference with BSF Director General Raman Shrivastava in Lahore on October 30, Khan had said that both sides had "decided to end their aggressive approach to the flag-lowering ceremony".

"Though it was not on our agenda, but upon my counterpart's request we have discussed it and decided to tone down the offensive gestures like (showing) fists, hand touching, thumb-showing and staring.

"The soldiers from both sides will also shake hands with each other so as to have a cordial environment during the daily flag-lowering ceremony," Khan had said.

Pakistan Rangers' spokesman Nadeem Raza told the media that his force was yet to receive a fresh proposal from the BSF about how to minimise "aggressive" gestures during the drill.

The 40-minute flag-lowering ceremony at the Wagah land border -- an event marked by marked by aggressive gestures and orchestrated boot-stomping -- has become a major draw for tourists on both sides of the frontier since 1959.

Peace activists on both sides of the border had welcomed reports that the Pakistan Rangers and BSF planned to tone down the aggression on display during the ceremony.