Political kites are banned during Basant Festival in Lahore
Section 144 imposed in City ahead of Basant celebrations: DC issues notification imposing restrictions to prevent provocation and maintain public order: Bans any personality image, party symbol on kites: Severe penalties announced for illegal kite flying and prohibited materials
The Lahore administration on Tuesday imposed Section 144 for 30 days ahead of the Basant festival, banning the display of images of any personality or flags of political parties on kites.
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, Section 144 has been enforced in Lahore to prevent provocation, ensure religious harmony, and maintain public order during Basant, while the display of images of sacred books, religious places, or any individual on kites has been prohibited.
The notification also bans the use of flags of any country or political party on kites during the festival.
The Deputy Commissioner of Lahore has issued a notification for Basant 2026 under the Punjab Kite Flying Act 2025, allowing the use of plain single-colour or multi-colour kites and guddas without any images during Basant celebrations in the city.
As per the notification, the illegal transportation, manufacture, storage, sale, and use of kites have been declared punishable offences.
The notification states that preparing or selling prohibited material will attract up to seven years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to half a million rupees.
The orders under Section 144 have been enforced with immediate effect due to concerns that provocative elements might use religious or political symbols during Basant, and law enforcement agencies have been directed to take strict action against violators.
The Punjab government has granted conditional permission for a “safe Basant” to be celebrated as a recreational festival in Lahore from February 6 to 8, while making it clear that no violation of the law will be tolerated.
Under the Punjab Kite Flying Act 2025, the use of metallic wire, nylon string, or glass-coated kite string has been completely banned.
The Punjab government has also prohibited the manufacture, transportation, storage, sale, and use of hazardous kite strings and kites, while kite flying before the designated dates may result in up to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs2 million.
Those involved in the manufacture or sale of prohibited materials may face up to seven years in prison along with a fine of up to Rs5 million.
Reporter: Qaiser Khokhar