Notwithstanding the peace overtures, Pakistan has said it would not stop or scale down the "aggressive" ritual by its border guards to mark the flag lowering ceremony at the Wagah border everyday.
Jawans of the Pakistan Rangers will keep their traditional style of the drill at the Wagah border crossing even though India has decided to tone down the aggressive posturing on its side, Lt Gen Hussain Mehdi, Director General of Pakistan Rangers, Punjab, said.
The Pakistani decision was reportedly conveyed last week to Border Security Force officials at the border point, a Pakistani Ranger official was quoted as saying by local newspaper Daily Times on Monday.
Officials here said that the issue could informally figure in Tuesday's talks between foreign secretaries of both the countries in New Delhi.
The flag lowering exercise performed by Pakistan Rangers and BSF soldiers at the check post every evening is considered as a show of "force and farce" with hundreds of people on both sides witnessing the belligerent gestures by them.
Pakistan has marked the event as one of its major tourist attractions and built a large infrastructure of tourism around the place.
Both Pakistan Rangers and the BSF officials during their meeting in March 2004 had reportedly agreed to abandon aggressive posturing during the ritual following the peace process but the agreement was not implemented, the newspaper said.
The mock drill reflecting hostility has, however, found favour with Pakistan's defence analysts, who said it had no impact on bilateral ties and wanted it to be carried for its "tourist attraction".
The ceremonial drill may look hostile, but was more of a show for tourists and had little effect on bilateral relations and it is not part of the manual but it is symbolic, defence analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi said.
"Basically soldiers from both sides show that they are better than their counterparts and the public shows its loyalty with the soldiers by shouting different slogans.
"Aggressive or toned-down, these gestures don't effect relations between both countries," he said.
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