Pakistan’s Punjab province lifts ban on kite flying during Basant festival after 20 years

Amid pressure from artists and civil society members, a ban on kite flying during the Basant festival has been lifted in Pakistan’s Punjab province after 20 years. The decision by Maryam Nawaz evoked widespread excitement across cities and villages in the province.

Announcing the details of the decision made on Wednesday, Punjab’s Minister for Information and Culture Azma Bokhari said on Thursday that there will, however, be several restrictions and fines for those violating new rules regarding the same. “After 20 years, the joy of Basant has finally returned to Punjab. But this time, it comes under strict safety regulations. No one will be allowed to break the law during the festival,” Bokhari said in a statement.

According to Dawn, on Thursday, the Lahore High Court was approached with a petition challenging the Punjab Government’s decision to lift the ban. The petition was filed by Judicial Activism Panel (JAP), a self-described public interest-litigation group, through Advocate Azhar Siddique. The petition raised serious concerns over public safety, noting that several incidents involving kite-flying had resulted in deaths.

Celebrated towards the end of winter to mark the arrival of spring, the festival has been an occasion for community celebrations across the province — and kite-flying was an integral part of the festivities.

In 2005, the government imposed the ban on kite-flying following several deaths, especially of motorcyclists and children, in accidents when the kite’s sharp glass-coated strings got entangled around their necks leading to serious injuries.

Azma added that children under 18 will not be allowed to fly kites. She also asserted that the manufacturing and sale of hazardous, metallic or chemically-coated string has been permanently eradicated from Punjab.

Three to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to PKR 2 million will be imposed on the sale and purchase of metallic or chemical-coated kite string.

With PTI inputs