Eid sweetness bypassed again at border

AMRITSAR / FEROZEPUR / JAMMU: Indian and Pakistani troops skipped the traditional exchange of sweets at border outposts on Eid for a second year in a row on Saturday against the backdrop of a spike in tensions between the two countries.

The Border Security Force ( BSF) denied reports that Pakistan had refused India’s gesture of offering sweets, saying the decision was taken at a company commanders’ meeting at Wagah on Friday.

Traditionally, the BSF and Pakistani Rangers mark special occasions such as Eid, Diwali and Republic Day with a customary exchange of sweets at the border outposts of Wagah, Hussainiwala and Sadqi in Punjab as well as Suchetgarh in Jammu. “A company commanders’ meeting took place between the BSF and Pakistan Rangers at zero point on the AttariWagah border on Friday and it was decided there itself that sweets will not be exchanged. The question of offering sweets on Saturday did not arise,” BSF deputy inspector general (DIG) MF Farooqui said.

“Since the Pakistani Rangers were non-committal, we decided to skip the gesture on Friday itself.” SF officials at Sadqi and Hussainiwala in Punjab also confirmed Pakistan Rangers were not forthcoming when asked about the tradition during the Friday meetings, prompting them to skip the custom.

Tensions have heightened along the border over the past week with Pakistan resorting to mortar shelling of Indian areas, prompting India to warn of an “effective and forceful” response to unprovoked firing. But India has not slammed the door on talks, saying it is committed to the agreement between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif in the Russian city of Ufa to resume dialogue.

However, the BSF and Border Guards Bangladesh continued with their traditional custom along the 4,096-km border. “BSF officials gave sweet boxes to their BGB counterparts and BGB officials reciprocated with a similar gesture,” said a BSF spokesman.