Thousands return to Wagah to witness parade post Covid-19

Following two years of haunting stillness amid Covid-19, thousands have once again returned to the Wagah-Attari border, abuzz with patriotism and ready to witness the daily Beating Retreat ceremony performed by Pakistan Rangers and the Indian Border Security Forces. The parade now takes place every evening, drawing spectators from all over the country, and ends with the same familiar cheering and resounding applause on both sides of the border that had grown representative of the scene.

The joint parade on the Wagah border is a tradition that dates back to 1959 and had been held without pause, except for days of the war, even in November 2014 that saw a suicide bombing by the Pakistani border, until March 2020. That is when the two countries shut down their borders in view of pandemic protocols and the tradition was severely limited.

Breaking tradition, during this period, the border guards of the two countries stopped shaking hands, participation of civilians was banned on both sides, and the young soldiers only saluted their respective flags without opening their country’s gates.

However, the colors of Wagah have been restored and throngs of citizens have been allowed to come to see the parade. Before evening falls, slogans of Takbir and long live Pakistan can once again be heard echoing the area, and it is expected that Pakistan Day’s grand celebrations will also take place in full swing for the first time in two years.

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As international borders have now been opened and travel restrictions withdrawn in most parts of the world, hundreds of foreign tourists have also started raining in the country, excited to witness the famed subcontinental beating retreat.

In addition to that, the Punjab Tourism Department has also started running daily double-decker buses from Gaddafi Stadium to Wagah Border, while on the Indian side, from Golden Temple Amritsar to Attari Border, to provide joint parade services to tourists.

TDCP Bus Terminal in-charge Ashfaq Dogar, while speaking on the matter, said that a large number of tourists travel to Wagah border by double-decker bus. “Not only do they visit different places in Lahore by bus but they are also seated on special guest seats to watch the parade at Wagah border,” he said.

Abdul Rehman Abbasi from Rawalpindi told The Express Tribune that he had come here 15-20 years ago to watch the parade and wanted to come here again ever since. “I was not married at the time. Now that the parade has resumed here after Covid-19, I am finally here with my wife and children. Much has changed, but the enthusiasm is the same today than it was two decades ago,” he said.

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Similarly, Muhammad Arsalan, a young boy who sells snacks and mineral water by the Wagah border, said that it was shocking for him to learn of the limitations placed on the border practice in 2020. “We who generated income from tourists and visitors who came here had difficult two years, but I am glad that everything is back to normal now and people have returned,” he told The Express Tribune.