Pakistan and India Suspend Border Ceremony after Suspected Taliban Suicide Attack Kills 50 at Wagah

India and Pakistan have called off a daily military ceremony after a suicide attack killed at least 50 people.

The explosion occurred in a car park about 500m from Wagah, Pakistan's border with India, on Sunday (2 November), as people were leaving after watching the parade. The blast also left more than 100 people injured, Reuters reported.

Thousands of people gather in Wagah every day to watch an elaborate flag-lowering ceremony as the border closes.

However, India's Border Security Force and Pakistan agreed to suspend it to allow mourning.

This is the first time that the ceremony has been called off since the two countries went to war in 1971.

"The ceremony was not suspended even during Kargil," India's home ministry spokesman KS Dhatwalia said, referring to a 1999 conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in the town of Kargil, triggered by a Pakistan army incursion.

As investigations are ongoing, spokesmen of two groups linked to the Pakistani Taliban, Jundallah and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, claimed responsibility for the deadly attack, with the latter saying more attacks are to be expected.

"We will soon release the video of this attack," Jamaat-ul-Ahrar's statement said. "This attack is the revenge of the killing of those innocent people who have been killed by Pakistan Army, particularly of those who have been killed in North Waziristan."

Tourists are currently denied access to the area.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent his condolences to the families of the deceased.