High alert issued along Indo-Pak border after Wagah blast

Amritsar, Nov 2: A high alert has been issued along the Attari border area here following the blast today at Wagah on the

side even as BSF officials said that the flag-lowering ceremony for the day on the Indian side, which attracts a lot of visitors, was over by the time the attack occurred.

At least 55 people, including 11 women and three security personnel, were killed and nearly 200 injured when a suicide attacker detonated a powerful bomb at Wagah in Pakistan today, just after the popular flag-lowering ceremony at the main Indo-Pak land border crossing.

BSF Deputy Inspector General RPS Jaswal said that immediately after the blast, a high alert was issued keeping in view the security aspects on the Indo-Pak border here.

He said that the entire visitors' gallery on the Indian side had become vacant much before the blast that occurred across the border in Pakistan. He said that there was no impact of the blast on the Indian side.

According to Jaswal, the blast occurred at 6.10 P.M. IST and the flag-lowering ceremony was over by that time and no visitors were there in the area.

Following the blast, BSF personnel were seen with sophisticated weapons near the Indo-Pak international gate, which was closed immediately after the flag-lowering ceremony. However, no official confirmation was available as to whether tomorrow's flag-lowering ceremony at the Indo-Pak Attari/Wagah border will go ahead as per the routine.

The ceremony as part of the flag lowering has been held for the past several decades on both sides in the evening.

PTI