Lahore: District Kite Flying Association President Sheikh Muhammad Saleem on Monday announced that this year’s Basant festivities would be celebrated in the city on February 22 and 23, according to a news source.
The president went on to urge the supporters of this cultural event to implore the Lahore High Court to lift the ban on celebrating Basant in the city. In this regard, Lahore Deputy Commissioner Danish Afzal stated that his office had not received any such requests so far, and that, because the ban on flying kites in Lahore was still in place, those breaching the law would have to face legal action.
The ban on Basant was imposed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan back in 2007, after several people lost their lives due to encounters with glass-coated strings. However, in December 2018, Punjab Information Minister Fayaz-Ul-Hassan Chohan announced that the Basant festival would return to Lahore once again, with a plan to impose specific rules and regulations to ensure the public’s safety. The matter was then forwarded to the Lahore High Court.
The matter came into the limelight once again last year, when on December 22, the Punjab government announced its decision to impose a complete ban on Basant. As a result, the provincial chief secretary ordered the district administrations to take strict action against all kite flyers.
Speaking to the media, DKFA President Saleem said that the government had two months to take precautionary measures in order to ensure public safety — before allowing the Basant Festival to go ahead on February 22 and 23.
