ISLAMABAD: Punjab authorities have enforced Section 144 and imposed strict limits on kite materials and imagery ahead of the Basant kite-flying festival, which is set to return in Lahore next month for the first time since 2007 under tight safety and public-order conditions.
The move comes as the three-day Basant celebration — a traditional spring cultural festival marked by kite flying — is scheduled from Feb. 6 to 8 under the Punjab Kite Flying Act 2025, ending an 18-year hiatus after years of ban amid deadly accidents and safety concerns.
Basant, once a vibrant tradition signaling the arrival of spring with colorful kites and rooftop festivities, was outlawed in the mid-2000s after authorities linked metal-coated kite strings and celebratory gunfire to multiple deaths and injuries.
“A 30-day ban has been imposed under Section 144 on the manufacture, sale, purchase and use of kites bearing religious or political symbols or imagery,” the Punjab Home Department said in a statement.
“Kites displaying the image of any country’s flag or a political party’s flag will also be prohibited,” it added. “The manufacture, transportation, storage, sale and use of kites in violation of these restrictions have been declared punishable offenses.”
