India hoists tallest flag near Attari border; Pakistan cries foul

India on Sunday hoisted the tallest tricolour in the country at the Attari border with Pakistan. The 360-foot high flag is tall enough to be spotted from Lahore in Pakistan.

Hoisted on a 110-meter high mast, the flag is 120 feet long and 80 feet wide. The weight of the flagpole is 55 tonnes, and an estimated Rs3.50 crore have been spent on this project by the Punjab government.

Before this, the title of the tallest national flag in India belonged to a 293-foot-high tricolour hoisted in Jharkhand's Ranchi.

Pakistan is not happy with India's decision to hoist the tricolour at the international border.

Reports said the Pakistan Rangers had conveyed their resentment to the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) and had asked them to install the flag away from the border.

Pakistan on Thursday again raised an objection to the flag being flown at the international border, calling the act a violation of international treaties.

Pakistan authorities apparently fear that India could use the mast to spy in Pakistani land by installing cameras.

However, Indian authorities had made it clear that the flat was being installed 200 metres inside before the zero line and was not a violation in any manner.

"Not to my knowledge. It is our national flag and nobody can stop us from hoisting it on our soil," said Anil Joshi, a minister in the Punjab government, who hoisted the flag on Sunday.

The decision to install tallest tricolour at the Attari border was taken by the Amritsar Improvement Trust. The foundation stone of this flag was laid in April last year by Joshi.

The tallest tricolour promises to be yet another attraction at the Attari-Wagah international border, which already sees thousands of Indians pouring in daily to witness the flag lowering ceremony.