Pakistan Rangers gift sweets to Indian BSF on Holi
Development comes a day after Rangers officials exchanged sweets with Indian counterparts on the eve of Pakistan Day
PHOTO: REUTERS
Pakistan Rangers gifted sweets to personnel of India’s Border Security Agency in Indian-held Kashmir’s Samba sector on the occasion of Holi on Thursday.
In a video posted by India’s ANI newswire service, top Rangers officials are seen exchanging sweets with BSF officials near the Line of Control (LoC).
Armed forces exchange sweets at Wagah-Attari border on Diwali
The development comes only a day after Rangers officials exchanged sweets with their Indian counterparts on the eve of Pakistan Day.
Pakistan and India have had a long history of uneasy and tense relations since Partition, leading to unabated ceasefire violations in the present age.
In such circumstances, the traditional exchange of sweets between Pakistan Rangers and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) on the Wagah and Kashmir borders during festivities on either side has been playing its role in defusing tensions to some extent.
In 2015, ceasefire violations had caused the tradition to witness a halt in July when sweets were not exchanged on Eidul Fitr. The forces also did not exchange sweets on the independence days in August. Nonetheless, on September 25, soldiers exchanged sweets and dry fruits on the occasion of Eidul Azha at the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.
Modi extends felicitations on Pakistan Day
But it was Diwali on November 11 that proved to be the icebreaker, with the two sides getting along and Pakistan offering a basket full of sweets on the Attari-Wagah border to congratulate its neighbour. Analysts term exchange of sweets as a major way to dismantle tensions but also call for halting exchange of bullets once and for all to materialise the dream of durable peace and stability.
In a video posted by India’s ANI newswire service, top Rangers officials are seen exchanging sweets with BSF officials near the Line of Control (LoC).
Armed forces exchange sweets at Wagah-Attari border on Diwali
The development comes only a day after Rangers officials exchanged sweets with their Indian counterparts on the eve of Pakistan Day.
Pakistan and India have had a long history of uneasy and tense relations since Partition, leading to unabated ceasefire violations in the present age.
In such circumstances, the traditional exchange of sweets between Pakistan Rangers and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) on the Wagah and Kashmir borders during festivities on either side has been playing its role in defusing tensions to some extent.
In 2015, ceasefire violations had caused the tradition to witness a halt in July when sweets were not exchanged on Eidul Fitr. The forces also did not exchange sweets on the independence days in August. Nonetheless, on September 25, soldiers exchanged sweets and dry fruits on the occasion of Eidul Azha at the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.
Modi extends felicitations on Pakistan Day
But it was Diwali on November 11 that proved to be the icebreaker, with the two sides getting along and Pakistan offering a basket full of sweets on the Attari-Wagah border to congratulate its neighbour. Analysts term exchange of sweets as a major way to dismantle tensions but also call for halting exchange of bullets once and for all to materialise the dream of durable peace and stability.