Pakistan’s colourful Basant festival returns after a 19-year safety ban, with Lahore skies filled with kites amid strict new regulations and high public excitement.
LAHORE: Colourful kites filled the skies over Lahore this weekend as Pakistan’s traditional Basant spring festival returned after a 19-year ban.
The three-day event in Punjab province saw families and friends gather on rooftops, in parks and streets to celebrate the arrival of spring.
“Everyone is excited – all of Punjab, all of Pakistan. It has become hard to find kites and strings because they sold out,” said kite flyer Shahzaib.
Authorities imposed the ban in 2007 following fatal accidents caused by glass-coated kite strings and celebratory gunfire.
The sharp strings, known as manjha, had killed and injured pedestrians and motorcyclists, prompting the crackdown.
This year’s revival came with strict safety measures, a move welcomed by thousands who travelled to Lahore to participate.
“People had lost businesses when the ban happened. After the ban lifted I sold 20,000 to 25,000 kites,” said kite maker Tariq.
Rights groups had long criticised the ban, arguing poor enforcement was to blame for past tragedies, not the festival itself.
Some official events were cancelled following a suicide blast at a mosque in Islamabad that killed 31 people.
Police were deployed across the city to enforce rules, while hospitals were placed on alert for potential injuries.
Authorities monitored kite sales using QR codes for tracking and confiscated banned materials like glass-coated strings.
Motorcycle riders installed protective rods on their bikes to intercept dangerous strings before they could cause harm.
Kite fighting was the main attraction, with participants trying to sever opponents’ strings to cheers from onlookers.
Workshops that had lain dormant were operating again to meet the surge in demand.
“Buying and flying kites should not be a one-time thing,” said 51-year-old string maker Chand Ustad.
“Keep buying them, keep flying them, this helps our business as well,” added Ustad.
