Border guards exchange greetings at Attari-Wagah border

Border guards of India and Pakistan Friday exchanged greetings at the Attari-Wagah joint check post between both the countries to mark India's 68th Independence Day.

Peaceniks from the Hind-Pakistan Dosti Manch and other organisations held a midnight candlelight vigil near the border gates Thursday night.

Border Security Force (BSF) officers and troopers walked up to the zero line here, 30 km from Amritsar, and offered sweets and fruits to their counterparts Pakistan Rangers to mark the Indian Independence Day.

Both sides greeted each other at a brief informal ceremony. The Pakistan Rangers had given sweets to the BSF Wednesday to mark Pakistan's Independence Day.

The midnight vigil and cultural functions by social organisations, held on the Indian side, continued till the early hours of Friday.

Satnam Manak, one of the organisers, said there were about 200 people from the Pakistan side, who came for the midnight candlelight vigil.

The event was cancelled last year owing to the killing of Indian soldiers by Pakistan troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

The peaceniks demanded that both countries should end hostilities and work for peace in the region.