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India-Pakistan tensions
AsiaSoutheast Asia

Pakistan, India agree to withdraw troops by end of May, resume iconic border ceremony

India says the border ceremony, a popular tourist attraction, will reopen to the public on Wednesday. Pakistan says it never stopped

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Indian Border Security Force personnel perform during the “beating retreat” ceremony at the Wagah border post on the border between India and Pakistan. Photo: AFP
Agence France-Presse
Pakistan and India have agreed to withdraw troop reinforcements deployed during their recent conflict back to their peacetime positions by the end of May, according to a senior Pakistani security official.
More than 70 people were killed in the four-day conflict, which was sparked by an attack on tourists by gunmen in Indian-administered Kashmir last month that New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing – a charge it denies.
The military confrontation involving intense tit-for-tat drone, missile, aerial combat and artillery exchanges came to an abrupt end after US President Donald Trump announced a surprise ceasefire, which is still holding.
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“Troops will be withdrawn to pre-conflict positions by the end of May,” the senior security official said on Tuesday, on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

The official said both countries agreed a phased withdrawal of the additional troops and weaponry deployed, mostly on the already heavily militarised de facto border in Kashmir, known as The Line of Control.

02:22

India and Pakistan to withdraw troops from contested region, resume border ceremony

India and Pakistan to withdraw troops from contested region, resume border ceremony

It comes after the Indian army last week said both sides had agreed to take “immediate measures to ensure troop reduction from the borders and forward areas”.

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