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| Pakistan-India border ceremony goes ahead after bombing | Pakistan-India border ceremony goes ahead after bombing |
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| Pakistan and India held their traditional flag-lowering ceremony at their shared border crossing on Monday, just 24 hours after a suicide bombing killed 55 spectators who had come to watch the nightly event. | Pakistan and India held their traditional flag-lowering ceremony at their shared border crossing on Monday, just 24 hours after a suicide bombing killed 55 spectators who had come to watch the nightly event. |
| Earlier the Indian home ministry had said they had agreed to a Pakistani request to suspend the ritual held at the Wagah border crossing near Lahore in order to honour those killed in one of the worst terrorist attacks in Pakistan for months. | Earlier the Indian home ministry had said they had agreed to a Pakistani request to suspend the ritual held at the Wagah border crossing near Lahore in order to honour those killed in one of the worst terrorist attacks in Pakistan for months. |
| Instead the elaborately choreographed display went ahead, with troops on both sides noisily marching and stamping around in front of the only crossing point on the long border between the two countries. | Instead the elaborately choreographed display went ahead, with troops on both sides noisily marching and stamping around in front of the only crossing point on the long border between the two countries. |
| The display, which attracted several hundred Pakistanis, was widely seen as a much-needed act of defiance against the terror group that sent a suicide bomber to target the huge crowds of people as they left the event on Sunday. | |
| Police said the device used appeared to be a bomb belt studded with shrapnel, which injured more than 120 others. | Police said the device used appeared to be a bomb belt studded with shrapnel, which injured more than 120 others. |
| More explosives were found during a search of the surrounding area, suggesting Islamist militants had hoped to cause far greater damage. | More explosives were found during a search of the surrounding area, suggesting Islamist militants had hoped to cause far greater damage. |
| Among those killed were three members of the paramilitary Rangers, who are in charge of securing the area and had received intelligence tipoffs in recent days about a possible attack. | Among those killed were three members of the paramilitary Rangers, who are in charge of securing the area and had received intelligence tipoffs in recent days about a possible attack. |
| Officials said the security cordon and body searches set up to screen people entering the parade ground forced the bomber to detonate the device near the car park as people began leaving at the end of the ceremony. | Officials said the security cordon and body searches set up to screen people entering the parade ground forced the bomber to detonate the device near the car park as people began leaving at the end of the ceremony. |
| Although Pakistan has frequently been hit by devastating terrorist attacks on markets and places of worship that have killed large numbers of civilians, violence had fallen sharply in 2014 in the wake of infighting within the Pakistani Taliban following the killing of its former leader Hakimullah Mehsud and the launch in June of a major army operation against militant safe havens in North Waziristan. | Although Pakistan has frequently been hit by devastating terrorist attacks on markets and places of worship that have killed large numbers of civilians, violence had fallen sharply in 2014 in the wake of infighting within the Pakistani Taliban following the killing of its former leader Hakimullah Mehsud and the launch in June of a major army operation against militant safe havens in North Waziristan. |
| Sunday’s attack was also unusual for being inside Punjab – the rich, populous province that dominates Pakistan politically – rather than the north-western tribal belt. | |
| Wagah is just 15 miles from Lahore, the home town of the prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, which has not experienced an attack on such a scale for several years. | Wagah is just 15 miles from Lahore, the home town of the prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, which has not experienced an attack on such a scale for several years. |
| Three separate groups claimed responsibility for the attack, including Jamaat ul-Ahrar, one of the most formidable new groups to split away from the Pakistani Taliban this year. | Three separate groups claimed responsibility for the attack, including Jamaat ul-Ahrar, one of the most formidable new groups to split away from the Pakistani Taliban this year. |
| In an emailed statement, the group’s spokesman promised further attacks. He said the Wagah bombing was to avenge the “killing of those innocent people who have been killed by Pakistan army, particularly of those who have been killed in North Waziristan”. | In an emailed statement, the group’s spokesman promised further attacks. He said the Wagah bombing was to avenge the “killing of those innocent people who have been killed by Pakistan army, particularly of those who have been killed in North Waziristan”. |
| The flag-lowering ceremony was last cancelled when Pakistan fought its third war with India in 1971. The boisterous display of nationalism continued even during the limited war fought in Kargil in 1999 over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir. | The flag-lowering ceremony was last cancelled when Pakistan fought its third war with India in 1971. The boisterous display of nationalism continued even during the limited war fought in Kargil in 1999 over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir. |