LAHORE: The Punjab Government has established a special committee to make a decision about Basant festival celebrations.
During the hearing of multiple petitions against the government’s plan to allow Basant festival, on Tuesday, a law officer informed the Lahore High Court (LHC) that the government’s committee on the matter would submit its recommendation within two weeks as the decision to allow kite flying is still pending.
Advocates Safdar Shaheen Pirzada, Sheraz Zaka and others had filed the petitions in public interest, terming the kite flying as a deadly activity which could not be allowed at the cost of citizens’ fundamental rights.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/lhc-seeks-reply-from-punjab-govt-in-petition-challenging-basant-festival/
The petitioners also challenged the Punjab Prohibition of Kite Flying Ordinance 2001 under which the government enjoyed discretionary powers to permit kite-flying activities.
They said that the Supreme Court of Pakistan had declared the kite-flying and Basant celebrations a violation of the fundamental rights in its 2006 judgment.
The petitioners requested the court to restrain the government from allowing kite-flying as the government introduced an amendment to the law without defining any criteria for the festival celebrations.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/basant-revival-not-yet-final-punjab-govt-informs-lhc/
They further asked the court to declare null and void the section 4(1) and 4-B of the ordinance, which empowered the government to permit the kite-flying.
Justice Aminuddin Khan allowed the petitioners to implead the Kite Flying Association in the case and adjourned the hearing till Jan 24 for further arguments.
Basant, a kite-flying seasonal festival of the Punjab region, has been celebrated for generations. It is held in late January or early February and marks the start of the spring season.
Lahoris had been enjoying the festival from decades, however, due to loss of lives the festival was discontinued officially. The Punjab government led by Shehbaz Sharif had also tried to revive the festival, however, the plan could not be materialized.
