On Monday, the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) had reportedly not exchanged sweets with the Pakistan Rangers on the occasion of Eid, owing to the strained relations between the two countries. This marks a departure from the traditional practice of sharing sweets between Indian and Pakistani security forces, during festivals.
Officials attribute this change in India’s stance to increased incidents of cross-border terrorism on the western border. As such, no sweets were exchanged on the India-Pakistan international border that stretches from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat.
Officials informed that while India maintained the tradition on multiple occasions such as Diwali, Republic Day, and on the Foundation Day of the BSF (December 1), positive reciprocation was not received from the Pakistani end.
BSF shares sweets with BGB
However, keeping up with its long-standing tradition, BSF exchanged sweets with the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). In a statement, the West Bengal Frontier of the BSF reiterated that the warmth in relations between the security forces of India and bangladesh has remained consistent and that they have celebrated on several occasions such as Eid. Moreover, the BSF officers also congratulated the BGB personnel stationed at the border.
EAM slams Pakistan at SCO
Earlier, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar hit out at Pakistan without taking its name in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet with the foreign ministers of several countries. MEA Jaishankar emphasised that some countries are “busy” in spreading terrorism while the world is a fighting coronavirus. He said, “Even as the world fighting the COVID-19. Some are busy in spreading other viruses such as terrorism, fake news, doctored videos are also used to divide communities and countries.”