India, Pakistan exchange sweets on Eid Al Adha first time since 2019

Indian and Pakistan forces exchange sweets on the occasion of Eid Al Adha at Attari Wagha Border, on July 21, 2021. Image Credit: PTI

India and Bangladesh also exchanged sweets at multiple locations on the border

 

The Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers on Wednesday exchanged sweets at various points along the border on the occasion of Eid Al Adha, first time since 2019.

A BSF spokesperson here said that “exchange of sweets took place between BSF and Pakistan Rangers on the occasion of Eid at JCP (joint check post) Attari” in Punjab’s Amritsar district, which lies across the Wagah border front of Pakistan.

A similar exchange of sweets took place between the two forces along the Rajasthan front too, officials said.

The BSF spokesperson said this custom was suspended last year due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

The BSF guards the about 2,290km India-Pakistan International Border (IB) that runs north to south from Jammu, Punjab, Rajasthan up to Gujarat on India’s western flank.

Exchange of sweets on the occasion of Eid also took place along the border in Jammu.

“This is the first exchange of sweets between the two border guarding forces (BSF and Pakistan Rangers) after the Pulwama incident (in 2019). There was no cross-border shelling for long and farmers on both sides of the border have been able to carry out their farming activities peacefully,” the Jammu frontier of the BSF said in a statement.

Exchange of sweets is also undertaken by the two sides during festivals like Diwali and Eid, Republic Day, Independence Day, BSF Raising Day on December 1 and Pakistan’s Independence Day on August 14.

India and Pakistan on February 25 this year released a joint statement announcing a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, following talks between their Directors General of Military Operations.

The two countries had earlier signed a ceasefire agreement in 2003 but it was repeatedly violated leading to deaths and injuries to civilians and troops on either side.

Meanwhile, a similar exchange of sweets continued as usual between the BSF and their Bangladesh counterpart BGB at multiple locations along the 4,096-km long IB on the eastern flank of the country.

“Both the border guarding forces share cordial and congenial relations. The exchange of sweets comes as a goodwill gesture and reflects true comradeship. It also helps in building and strengthening cordial relations,” the BSF south Bengal frontier headquartered in Kolkata said in a statement.

It “has been a long-running tradition between the two forces to exchange sweets on the festive occasions”, the BSF said.