Wagah
| |
|---|---|
| Wahga | |
 The evening flag lowering ceremony at the Pakistan–India international border near Wagah | |
.png) Location of Wagah | |
  Wagah Wagah (Pakistan) Show map of Pakistan | |
| Coordinates:31°36′17″N74°34′23″E / 31.60472°N 74.57306°E /31.60472; 74.57306 | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| District | Lahore |
| Zone | Wahga Zone |
| Union Council | 181 |
| Population | |
• Total | Cantonment village: 26,900 Municipal corporate council: 560,968 Border: 230,008 |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PKT) |
Wagah (/wɑːˈɡə/;Punjabi:واگھا[ʋäː˦ˈgä];Urdu:واہگہ[ˈwɑːɦˌgɑː]), also spelledWagha orWahga, is a village andunion council (UC 181) located in theWahgaZone nearLahore City District,Pakistan.[1] The town is famous for theWagah border ceremony and also serves as a goods transit terminal and arailway station betweenPakistan andIndia.[2]
Wagah is situated 600 m (2,000 ft) west of the India-Pakistan border and lies on the historicGrand Trunk Road betweenLahore andAmritsar inIndia. The border is located 24 km (15 mi) fromLahore and 32 km (20 mi) fromAmritsar. It is also 3 km (1.9 mi) from the bordering village ofAttari in India. The Wagah flag-lowering ceremony – by the border security personnel ofPakistan (Pakistan Rangers) andIndia (Border Security Force) has been taking place here every evening since 1959.[3]
The border crossing draws its name from Wahga village, near which theRadcliffe Line, the boundarydemarcation line dividing India and Pakistan upon thePartition of British India, was drawn.[4] At the time of the independence in 1947, migrants from India entered Pakistan through this border crossing and vice versa. TheWagah railway station is 400 m (1,300 ft) to the south and 100 m (330 ft) from the border.
TheWagah-Attari border ceremony happens at the border gate, two hours beforesunset each day.[4] The flag ceremony is conducted by thePakistan Rangers and IndianBorder Security Force (BSF), similar to the retreat ceremonies atGanda Singh Wala/Hussainiwala border crossing andMahavir/Sadqi International Parade Ground border crossing. A marching ceremony, known as the "Silly Walk ceremony", is conducted each evening along with the flag ceremony. The ceremony started in 1986 as an agreement of peace, although there was not a conflict at that time.
Flag-lowering ceremony at Wagah border becomes more peaceful atWikinews
