Pakistan I-Day: No sweets exchanged by BSF, Rangers

There was no exchange of sweets between the Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers at the international border here on the occasion of Pakistan’s Independence Day on Friday.

With tensions between India and Pakistan over recent terror attacks in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, officials of BSF and Pakistan Rangers didn’t follow the tradition of offering sweets to one another.

“No sweets were offered by either side,” a BSF officer said here. Both sides, at a meeting of the border commandants this week, had decided not to exchange sweets.

Pakistan’s Independence Day falls on August 14 and India’s a day later.

The tradition of exchanging sweets on select occasions was broken on the occasion of Eid in October last year.

Normally, Pakistan Rangers offer sweets on Pakistan’s Independence Day and the BSF reciprocate on India’s Independence Day.

However, on March 23 this year, the Pakistanis offered sweets to the BSF on the occasion of Pakistan Day.

Terrorists believed to be from Pakistan launched a terror attack in Dinanagar town in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district on July 27, leaving seven people dead.

And a terrorist said to be a Pakistani was caught after he and another terrorist, who was killed, ambushed and killed two BSF troopers in Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5.