Wagah
Wagah (Punjabi (Gurmukhi): ਵਾਘਾ, Hindi: वाघा, Urdu: واہگہ) is the only road border crossing between Pakistan and India,[1] and lies on the Grand Trunk Road between the cities of Amritsar, Punjab, India, and Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
The border is located 22 kilometres (14 mi) from Lahore and 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Amritsar.
Overview
Wagah, named Wahga in Pakistan, is a village through which the controversial Radcliffe Line, the boundary demarcation line dividing India and Pakistan upon the Partition of India, was drawn.[2] The village was divided by independence in 1947. Today, the eastern half of the village remains in the Republic of India while the western half is in Pakistan.
It is particularly known for the elaborate Wagah border ceremony that happens at the border gate before 5PM each day.[2]
2014 suicide attack
On 2 November 2014, more than 60 people were killed and more than 110 people were injured in a suicide attack on the Pakistan side of the Wagah border. The attacker detonated the bomb in the evening after Wagah border ceremony.[3] Jundallah, the outlawed group behind a suicide bombing that killed at least 78 Christians at a church in Peshawar last September, claimed responsibility for the Wagah border attack.
The responsibility of the bomb blast was claimed separately by the outlawed Jundallah (Pakistan) and TTP-affiliated Jamaat-ul-Ahrar outfits.
The spokesman of the splinter group of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Ahmed Marwat via telephone said that the attack is a reaction to military Operation Zarb-e-Azb and Waziristan operation.[4]
The Jamaat-ul-Ahrar splinter group of the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the Wagah border attack as its spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan, speaking to Dawn on telephone from Afghanistan, said it was carried out by one of their men. "Some other groups have claimed responsibility of this attack, but these claims are baseless. We will soon release the video of this attack," he said. "This attack is revenge for the killing of innocent people in North Waziristan," the banned militant group's spokesman said.[5]
Defused explosives
Security personnel conducted a search operation in the areas adjoining the Wagah border crossing near Lahore and recovered a large quantity of explosives and suicide vests which were defused after intelligence agencies received information regarding the presence of a 'suspicious person' in the area.[6]
References
- ^ "Mixed feelings on India-Pakistan border". BBC News. 14 August 2007.
- ^ a b Frank Jacobs (3 July 2012). "Peacocks at Sunset". Opinionator: Borderlines. The New York Times. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
- ^ "Pakistan blast 'kills 60' at Wagah border with India". DAWN News. 2 November 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
- ^ http://www.dawn.com/news/1142006/jundullah-claims-suicide-attack-near-wagah-border-45-dead
- ^ http://www.dawn.com/news/1142006/ttp-splinter-groups-claim-wagah-attack-60-dead
- ^ http://www.dawn.com/news/1142188/fresh-explosives-defused-near-wagah-bomb-site
External links
Flag-lowering ceremony at Wagah border becomes more peaceful at Wikinews
- Michael Palin at the India-Pakistan border ceremony on the Pakistani side (from Himalaya with Michael Palin). BBCWorldwide video on YouTube.
- Sanjeev Bhaskar at the India-Pakistan border ceremony on the Indian side. BBCWorldwide video on YouTube.
- Pictures of independence's 60th anniversary celebration at Wagah Border