LAHORE: In a major policy shift, the Punjab government on Wednesday announced that it has no plans to celebrate the Basant festival across the province and that it will instead be celebrated only in Lahore.
Basant is returning to Lahore after 18 years, following the passage of the Punjab Regulation of Kite Flying Bill, 2025 by the provincial assembly on December 24.
So far, only the Lahore deputy commissioner has notified the three-day festival starting on February 6, 2026, while deputy commissioners in other districts were expected to follow suit.
However, the 46th Cabinet Committee on Law and Order — chaired by Khawaja Salman Rafique — met at the Punjab Home Department today and noted that Basant would be celebrated only in Lahore and on a limited scale.
Though there was no need for all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners to be present at the meeting, sources in the Home Department told Dawn that they were specially invited to attend via video link, particularly for the “Basant agenda”.
Punjab Home Secretary Dr Ahmad Javed Qazi told the cabinet committee meeting, “The provincial cabinet had allowed limited Basant on February 6, 7 and 8 in Lahore only,” adding that kite-flying would remain completely banned elsewhere in the province under the Punjab Regulation of Kite Flying Bill, 2025.
A divisional commissioner, on the condition of anonymity, told Dawn that an official informed the meeting that Basant would not be allowed across the district.
The Home Department had held several meetings on the revival of Basant and discussed permitting the festival at specific locations or at specially notified rooftops, both in the Walled City and elsewhere in the district.
The department had also instructed all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners to begin registering twine and kite manufacturers ahead of Basant.
Meanwhile, the divisional commissioner said the government was piloting Basant in Lahore, calling it an opportunity for citizens to demonstrate responsibility and adherence to instructions, a move that could lead to the festival’s revival on a larger scale.
“People should watch their neighbourhoods and ensure that no illegality is committed and that no one is injured … in the best interest of the Basant festival,” he said.
Expressing apprehension, the commissioner noted that any serious accident during the festival could lead to Basant being banned for good.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz directed buses and rickshaws on city roads to offer free rides and minimise the use of motorcycles in Lahore. The government may employ buses from city colleges and universities during the three-day festival.
Eventually, the Home Department wrote to all commissioners, deputy commissioners, and senior police officers in the province regarding incidents of kite flying and injuries caused by stray kite twines on Wednesday, seeking action against those involved in the activity in violation of the Punjab Regulation of Kite Flying Ordinance, 2025.
The home department has expressed concern in the letter about illegal kite flying observed in certain parts of the province. It stated that incidents were being reported in which passersby had been injured.
In the letter, the department said, “such practices pose a serious threat to human life and public safety,” adding that action could be taken against violators, including the arrest of kite fliers and the manufacturers and suppliers of kite flying material, in accordance with the law.
The meeting also instructed authorities to adopt foolproof security arrangements for New Year’s Eve, besides taking strict action against those involved in aerial firing, hooliganism and one-wheeling.
Additionally, the meeting approved the extension of the deployment of Rangers in Mianwali, Attock, and Dera Ghazi Khan.
Kite flying has been the cause of multiple injuries and fatalities across the province, usually caused by kite strings coated with chemicals or glass, or made from metal.
Last Saturday, a six-year-old girl was injured by a kite string near Adda Maan on Ganda Singh Road, within the jurisdiction of the Saddar Police Station.
The victim was riding on the front of a motorcycle with her brother when a chemical-coated twine slashed her throat. She was immediately rushed to the DHQ Hospital for medical treatment.
