[5] The ceremony begins with battle calls from both sides in the form of loud screaming by the border guards.

[10] Some tents were pitched both sides, two sentry boxes painted in the national colours of each country and a gate to regulate traffic for the refugees.

The ceremony starts every evening immediately before sunset with a blustering parade by the soldiers from both sides, and ends with the perfectly coordinated lowering of the two nations' flags.

The flags are then folded, and the ceremony ends with a retreat that involves a brusque handshake between soldiers from either side, followed by the closing of the gates again.

[12][13] In October 2010, Major General Yaqub Ali Khan of the Pakistan Rangers decided that the aggressive aspect of the ceremonial theatrics should be toned down.

A suicide bomber detonated a 25 kg (55 lb) explosive in his vest 600 metres (2,000 ft) from the crossing point in the evening after the ceremony ended.

These ceremonies occur in smaller settings, and spectators tend to be local Punjabis rather than tourists from other regions in India, Pakistan, and other countries.