A file photo of Punjab Rangers and Indian BSF at the Wagah Border. PHOTO: AFP
With tensions prevailing at the border, the exchange of sweets between the troops of India and Pakistan along the Wagah border in Punjab on the occasion of Eidul Fitr was called off.
While the Indian BSF gave no specific reason for the suspension of the custom, the force’s deputy IG MF Farooqui confirmed the development.
Read: Five killed in Indian BSF firing near Sialkot: ISPR
It has been a tradition with the BSF and the Pakistan Rangers on the Wagah border to exchange sweets on festivals such as Eid and Diwali.
On August 14 last year, Pakistani Rangers had exchanged sweets with personnel from the Indian BSF at Wagah Border to celebrate Pakistan’s 68th Independence Day.
Read: Happy Diwali: India, Pakistan forces exchange sweets at Wagah border
The practice was repeated in January this year when Pakistani and Indian border troops along the LoC exchanged sweets at three places in Jammu and Kashmir on the occasion of India's Republic Day.
India on Thursday had warned Pakistan of a “forceful and effective response” as it protested ‘ceasefire violations’ along the LOC.
Read: Cross-border attacks: Pakistan to press for peace despite Indian hostility
Further, Pakistan summoned Indian high commissioner TCA Raghavan on Thursday to protest airspace violations and unabated ceasefire provocations, a day after Pakistan Army shot down an Indian ‘spy drone’.
These developments come days after an ice-breaking meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in the Russian city of Ufa, where both sides decided to resume the dialogue process stalled since mid-2014.
The article originally appeared on Hindustan Times
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