Wagah
title: "Wagah" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["wagha-town", "india–pakistan-border-crossings", "villages-in-punjab,-pakistan", "checkpoints"] topic_path: "geography/india" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagah" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Wagah |
| official_name | Wahga |
| native_name | |
| settlement_type | Union Council of Pakistan |
| image_skyline | File:Wagah_border_ceremony2.jpg |
| imagesize | 300px |
| image_caption | The evening flag lowering ceremony at the Pakistan–India international border near Wagah |
| image_map | Wagah-Attari (OpenStreetMap).png |
| mapsize | 300px |
| map_caption | Location of Wagah |
| pushpin_map | Punjab Pakistan#Pakistan |
| pushpin_label_position | bottom |
| pushpin_mapsize | 300 |
| pushpin_map_caption | Location in Pakistan |
| coordinates | |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_name | Pakistan |
| subdivision_type2 | District |
| subdivision_name2 | Lahore |
| subdivision_type3 | Zone |
| subdivision_name3 | Wahga Zone |
| subdivision_type4 | Union Council |
| subdivision_name4 | 181 |
| established_title | |
| government_type | |
| leader_name | |
| unit_pref | Imperial |
| elevation_footnotes | |
| population_total | Cantonment village: 26,900 |
| Municipal corporate council: 560,968 | |
| Border: 230,008 | |
| timezone | PKT |
| utc_offset | +5 |
| postal_code_type | |
| :: |
::callout[type=note]
::
| name = Wagah | official_name = Wahga | native_name = | native_name_lang = | other_name = | settlement_type = Union Council of Pakistan | image_skyline = File:Wagah_border_ceremony2.jpg | imagesize = 300px | image_caption = The evening flag lowering ceremony at the Pakistan–India international border near Wagah | image_flag = | image_seal = | image_shield = | nickname = | motto = | image_map = Wagah-Attari (OpenStreetMap).png | mapsize = 300px | map_caption = Location of Wagah | pushpin_map = Punjab Pakistan#Pakistan | pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_mapsize = 300 | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Pakistan | coordinates = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Pakistan | subdivision_type1 = | subdivision_name1 = | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = Lahore | subdivision_type3 = Zone | subdivision_name3 = Wahga Zone | subdivision_type4 = Union Council | subdivision_name4 = 181 | established_title = | established_date = | government_type = | government_footnotes = | leader_title = | leader_name = | unit_pref = Imperial | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = | area_land_km2 = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | population_footnotes = | population_total = Cantonment village: 26,900 Municipal corporate council: 560,968 Border: 230,008 | population_as_of = | population_density_km2 = | population_note = | timezone = PKT | utc_offset = +5 | timezone_DST = | utc_offset_DST = | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code = | website = | footnotes =
Wagah (; ; ), also spelled Wagha or Wahga, is a village and union council (UC 181) located in the Wahga Zone near Lahore City District, Pakistan. The town is famous for the Wagah border ceremony and also serves as a goods transit terminal and a railway station between Pakistan and India.
Wagah is situated 600 m west of the India-Pakistan border and lies on the historic Grand Trunk Road between Lahore and Amritsar in India. The border is located 24 km from Lahore and 32 km from Amritsar. It is also 3 km from the bordering village of Attari in India. The Wagah flag-lowering ceremony – by the border security personnel of Pakistan (Pakistan Rangers) and India (Border Security Force) has been taking place here every evening since 1959.
Border ceremony
Main article: Wagah-Attari border ceremony
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Flag_ceremony_at_Wahga_border_of_Pak_India.jpg" caption="Flag ceremony in December 2016."] ::
Border crossing
The border crossing draws its name from Wahga village, near which the Radcliffe Line, the boundary demarcation line dividing India and Pakistan upon the Partition of British India, was drawn. At the time of the independence in 1947, migrants from India entered Pakistan through this border crossing and vice versa. The Wagah railway station is 400 m to the south and 100 m from the border.
Border crossing ceremony
The Wagah-Attari border ceremony happens at the border gate, two hours before sunset each day. The flag ceremony is conducted by the Pakistan Rangers and Indian Border Security Force (BSF), similar to the retreat ceremonies at Ganda Singh Wala/Hussainiwala border crossing and Mahavir/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.
Gallery
File:Pakistani Flag Wahga Border.jpg|122m high Pakistani flag on Wagah Border File:Stadium wahga border.jpg|Stadium-like seating at Pakistani side of the border File:Wagha border.jpg|The Pakistani gate at the border crossing File:Bab e Azadi Wahga Border.jpg|Bab-e-Azadi (Gate of Independence) on Pakistani side of Wagah Border Wagah border indian bsf.jpg|Indian BSF at Wagah Women personnel of India's Border Security Force.jpg|Women personnel of Indian BSF at Wagah File:Soldiers at Wagah border.jpg|Punjab Rangers at Waga
References
References
- "The Punjab Gazette".
- (14 August 2007). "Mixed feelings on India-Pakistan border". [[BBC News]].
- Khaleeli, Homa. (1 November 2010). "Goodbye to the ceremony of silly walks between India and Pakistan". The Guardian.
- Jacobs, Frank. (3 July 2012). "Peacocks at Sunset". The New York Times.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::