Social Media Approves Decision to Wagah Border Military Ceremony Despite Attack
The ceremony at the Wagah border continued in front of a large, cheering crowd
NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan, despite plans to suspend the daily military ceremony following Sunday’s suicide attack, decided to go ahead with it as scheduled.
The two countries had briefly discussed suspending the ceremony as a mark of respect to the 60 plus victims who were killed when a bomb detonated at the Wagah border, close to Lahore. Another 200 people were injured in the attack.
It would have been the first time the Wagah ritual had been called off since the two countries fought a war in 1971.
The decision to hold the ceremony was given the nod of approval by many on social media, with Pakistani military spokesman Asim Bajwal tweeting:
At least 2000 people gathered at the parade ground, issuing a message to the groups behind the attack, chanting, “"Death to terrorists" and "Long live Pakistan.” The Indian side, in stark contrast, had only a handful of spectators.
Twitter was flooded with Tweets echoing a similar sentiment, issuing a message that the attack was unsuccessful in breaking the resolve of the Pakistani people and condemning the incident outrightly.
Others compared the contrasting developments of the day: