Basant festival to be held only in Lahore: CM Maryam

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday clarified that kite flying during the three-day Basant festival, starting January 6, will be allowed only in Lahore.

Addressing an event at the Basant control room, she said foolproof security arrangements were being made to ensure the festival is safe for all participants. “A robust monitoring system has been established to make Basant safe,” she added.

Her statement came a day after the Punjab cabinet allowed permissible kite-flying material in four more districts — Faisalabad, Kasur, Sheikhupura, and Multan — to meet public demand.

The chief minister said people across the province are excited about the festival, which was allowed under strict conditions last month, lifting a nearly two-decade ban on kite flying. She described Basant as a “beautiful festival of Punjab” and urged citizens to teach their children the Punjabi language, calling it a matter of pride.

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Highlighting her government’s achievements, CM Maryam said the province is focusing on providing state-of-the-art facilities to the public, including free heart surgeries for children, and claimed that Punjab is leading in technology and artificial intelligence.

Taking a dig at the previous PTI-led government, she said: “Pakistan went through a period of incompetence in the past. They were burning national properties, and we are decorating them.” She added that the law and order situation in Punjab has improved by 70%.

The chief minister also urged the PTI leadership to focus on issues in terrorism-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and announced that a law will be introduced in Punjab imposing up to 10 years’ imprisonment for stealing, buying, or selling stolen manhole covers.