India cancelled its flag lowering ceremony at Wahga

Lahore : The daily retreat and flag-lowering ceremonies have been cancelled at the Attari-Wagah border front, the BSF said hours before IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was to be released by Pakistan.

A senior official of the force said the martial ceremony has been called off due to administrative requirements in the wake of the IAF pilot’s return via the frontier. The Indian Air Force will receive the Wing Commander at the Wagah border this afternoon, two days after he was captured while engaging in an aerial dogfight with Pakistani F-16s.

The Wing Commander’s family reached Delhi from Chennai last evening and are now on their way to Amritsar.

The Border Security Force, which is expected to stand guard during the pilot’s arrival, has not been told the “exact time and sequence” of the release.