No-Kite-Fly Zone: Pakistan’s kite-makers pushed to have Basant canceled

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The signboard outside a car battery shop on Lahore’s Lawrence Road is shaped like a kite. The shop belonged to legendary kite-flyer, the late Pervaiz Ahmad Butt. (AN photo)
Updated 29 January 2019
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No-Kite-Fly Zone: Pakistan’s kite-makers pushed to have Basant canceled

  • Festival too dangerous until government can crackdown on manufacturers of knife-sharp strings, say kite-makers
  • Basant was banned by the Supreme Court in 2005 after stray strings killed 19 people

LAHORE: Last December, Pakistan’s passionate kite-flyers rejoiced when officials announced that the boisterous spring festival of Basant, banned almost a decade and a half ago, would be celebrated once more this February. 
But their excitement was snuffed out last week when the government gave up on plans to organize the springtime celebration, admitting that it needed more time to clampdown on manufacturers who lace string with chemicals and glass that makes its deadly. 
Ironically, it is Pakistan’s kite-makers who have lobbied the government not to lift the ban on the kite carnival.
Kite-flying has long been a passion in South Asia and for decades, Basant would transform Pakistan’s skies into a glittery kaleidoscope of hundreds of thousands of kites to commemorate the advent of spring. But in 2005, the Supreme Court banned the celebration after 19 people died from decapitation by stray strings. In that year alone, kites and string worth over Rs.1 billion were sold on Basant day just in the eastern city of Lahore, whose ancient walled enclave is the epicenter of the festival.
Many kite-flyers indulge in kite duels, flying with thick strings or razor-sharp ones reinforced with glass and chemicals so that they can better attack the opponent’s kites and slice their strings. Stray strings have been known to knock out power lines and in some cases tangle around a human neck or limb and cut it.
“The government came to me for recommendations about opening Basant and I told them that first there should be a crackdown against those who are producing the prohibited thread,” Muhammad Siddique Papa, who comes from a long line of famous kite-makers, told Arab News outside what used to be his kite shop in Lahore’s ancient Mochi Darwaza. The store is now a warehouse rented out to local businesses. 
“This thread is unbreakable and cuts like a sword,” Papa said. “I had recommended that the government should not allow Basant unless the production of this dangerous thread can be controlled. That has so far proved very difficult.”
Mochi Darwaza used to be a block-long market of tiny kite shops but since 2005, many of the kite sellers have shut down their stores or moved to selling grocery and toys. 
Imran Butt, a former kite maker who now owns a grocery store in the walled city, said he had also recommended to the government that the ban on the festival should not be lifted. 
“The government cannot ban the killer strings because black sheep of the thread industry will keep producing it,” he said as he poured rice into a bag for a customer. “I would not want Basant to open for the next thousand years because the government can’t control string makers for the next thousand years. They don’t have the capacity.”
Punjab information Minister Fayyaz ul Hasan Chohan admitted that rogue string manufacturers were the problem and said they produced the dangerous string “underground” and were not easy to identify. 
“Some incidents of throat-cutting by kite-flying have occurred in different parts of the province in recent weeks and we felt that we need to prepare well to celebrate Basant,” Chohan said. “Preparations require a comprehensive strategy including new legislation and further training of police, which would take months. That’s the reason we have shelved the plan of celebrating Basant this year.”
Last week, the government had announced that it needed at least four to six months to prepare for a “safe Basant” and develop a mechanism to register all kite and string manufacturers.
“Strict action is required against the use of chemical and metallic twine,” Aleem Khan, provincial minister for local government, had said during a press conference. 
But thread manufacture Muhammad Munir defended his industry, saying thick thread was made for industrial purposes but some string-makers misused it.
“Most of them import nylon thread from China or develop it at their own small home-based factories,” he said, adding that the government needed to crackdown on manufacturers from the city of Faisalabad, a popular Basant destination, who produced the dangerous thread and supplied it to the rest of the country.
“We have arrested dozens of string producers, sellers and kite-flyers only during the last two months and burnt thousands of spools of the banned string and hundreds of kilograms of confiscated thread,” Rashid Mehmood, a senior police officer in the city of Faisalabad, said. 
On Lahore’s famed Lawrence Road, Shahbaz Butt sat at the shop of his late father Pervaiz Ahmad Butt, a legendary kite-flyer who won the 1979 All Pakistan Kite-Flying Tournament at the iconic Minto Park. Every Friday for decades, the city’s kite aficionados would head to the park to see Butt duel his rivals from around the country, knocking their kites down to the ground by slicing through their string. 
“After the government stopped kite-flying, my father became a victim of depression and anxiety; his food habits changed and he lived the rest of his life between his home and our store,” Butt’s son said. The sign-board outside the car battery shop is shaped like a kite. “I believe if kite-flying had not been banned,my father would have been alive today.”
Octogenarian Hafeez Butt, who flew kites for 55 years and won several contests, said it took him years to get over the Basant ban. 
“Kite-flying is a sport but greedy traders and unprofessional flyers turned it into an ugly hobby,” he lamented. “String-sellers are a mafia and the government cannot do anything against them. They should go after them instead of depriving us. They need to lift this ban.”
But Khawaja Basharat, who used to be the president of the now disbanded Pakistan Kite-Sellers Association, said he was relieved the ban had been extended.
“Criminal elements producing thick and killer thread have given us [kite flyers and makers] a bad name,” he said. 
“I welcome the government’s decision of not celebrating Basant until they can eliminate the thread mafia,” he added. “When the government contacted me for help in reviving Basant, I told them, ‘I am no longer in this business’.”


Pakistan says killed eight militants infiltrating its border with Afghanistan

Updated 06 April 2025
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Pakistan says killed eight militants infiltrating its border with Afghanistan

  • The Pakistani Taliban militants were trying to infiltrate the border in North Waziristan district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
  • Islamabad has frequently blamed the surge in militancy in its western provinces of KP and Balochistan on Afghanistan, Kabul denies the charge

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed eight Pakistani Taliban militants who were attempting to infiltrate the country’s border with Afghanistan in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Pakistani military said on Sunday.
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in the country, particularly in KP, since a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Islamabad broke down in November 2022.
The TTP and other militant groups have frequently targeted security forces convoys and check-posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months.
In the latest incident, security forces had an intense exchange of fire with the group of militants who attempted to infiltrate the border in KP’s North Waziristan district, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
“Sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Kharji [TTP militant] found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
The North Waziristan district, which borders Afghanistan, had been a stronghold of the TTP before successive military operations drove the militants out of the region more than a decade ago. Pakistan says TTP fighters have regrouped in the restive region in recent years.
Islamabad has frequently blamed the surge in militancy in its western provinces of KP and Balochistan on Afghanistan, accusing Kabul of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny involvement and insist that Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.
“Pakistan has consistently been asking interim Afghan government to ensure effective border management on their side of the border,” the ISPR said.
“Interim Afghan government is expected to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by Khwarij for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan.”


Pakistan seeks ‘comprehensive’ partnership with Russia in energy, agriculture and IT sectors

Updated 06 April 2025
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Pakistan seeks ‘comprehensive’ partnership with Russia in energy, agriculture and IT sectors

  • Pakistan and Russia, once Cold War rivals, have strengthened ties in recent years through increased dialogue and trade cooperation
  • Senate Chairman Gilani expresses Pakistan’s support for Russia’s role in promoting regional stability, multipolar global governance

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan seeks a “comprehensive” partnership with Russian in energy, agriculture, information technology (IT) and other sectors, Pakistan’s Senate Secretariat said on Sunday, citing Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani.
The statement followed Gilani’s meeting with Valentina Matviyenko, chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, on the sidelines of the 150th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Tashkent.
Gilani highlighted the shared aspirations of both nations for peace, security and multipolarity in global affairs, and emphasized the increasingly broad-based cooperation across various sectors and multilateral platforms.
“Both sides discussed diversifying economic ties in areas such as energy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and IT. Chairman Gilani advocated for the establishment of banking channels and improved connectivity under regional frameworks,” the Senate Secretariat said in a statement.
“Chairman Gilani concluded by reaffirming Pakistan’s readiness to work with Russia toward a comprehensive, forward-looking partnership and extended an invitation for future parliamentary exchanges in Islamabad.”
Pakistan and Russia, once Cold War rivals, have strengthened ties in recent years through increased dialogue and trade. In 2023, Islamabad began purchasing discounted Russian crude oil banned from European markets due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, and also received its first shipment of liquefied petroleum gas from Moscow.
In December last year, Russia and Pakistan held intergovernmental meetings in Moscow and discussed cooperation on oil and gas offshore exploration and refining, according to a Reuters news agency report. Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Albert P. Khorev this year announced cooperation with Pakistan in the energy and industrial sectors, including the modernization of a state-owned steel mill.
Gilani expressed Pakistan’s support for Russia’s role in promoting regional stability and multipolar global governance, according to the Senate Secretariat.
“Both sides emphasized the importance of coordinated efforts in forums like the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) and UN (United Nations), particularly regarding climate action, food security, and counter-narcotics,” it added.


‘No one to return to’: Afghans fear Pakistan deportation

Updated 06 April 2025
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‘No one to return to’: Afghans fear Pakistan deportation

  • Islamabad announced at the start of March that 800,000 Afghan Citizen Cards would be canceled
  • The deportation program has already forced 800,000 undocumented Afghans across the border

Rawalpindi: Benazir Raufi stands alone in her restaurant, her staff and customers too afraid to visit after Pakistan’s government announced it was canceling the residence permits of hundreds of thousands of Afghans.
Islamabad announced at the start of March that 800,000 Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) would be canceled — the second phase of a deportation program which has already forced 800,000 undocumented Afghans across the border.
“If I’m deported, it will destroy me. Either my heart will stop, or I’ll take my own life,” 45-year-old Raufi, who was 13 years old when her family fled civil war in Afghanistan in the 1990s, told AFP.
“Pakistan gave us our smile and now those smiles are being taken away.”

This picture taken on March 3, 2025 shows Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) holder Benazir Raufi at the counter of her restaurant in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AFP)

Ten Afghan women who worked for her have refused to leave home after the restaurant in Rawalpindi was raided by police — facing deportation to a country where women are banned from studying, certain jobs and visiting some public places like parks.
“I have no one to return to. The Taliban won’t accept us,” Raufi added, her voice cracking.
The government’s deadline for ACC holders to leave voluntarily has been pushed back to April, but harassment by authorities has been underway for months, according to activists.
Those born in Pakistan, married to Pakistanis, or living for decades in the country are among those to have their government residence permits canceled.
The deportation campaign comes as political ties between the neighboring governments have soured over Pakistan’s rapidly deteriorating security situation along the border.
Last year was the deadliest year in almost a decade in Pakistan, with more than 1,600 people killed in attacks — nearly half of them security forces personnel — according to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies.
Pakistan accuses the Taliban government of failing to root out militants sheltering on Afghan soil, a charge the Taliban government denies.
The Taliban government has repeatedly called for the “dignified” return of Afghans to their country, with Prime Minister Hassan Akhund urging countries hosting Afghans not to force them out.

This picture taken on April 3, 2025 shows Afghan refugee Dua Safay, whose real name has been changed, hanging clothing in her rented home in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AFP)

“I have freedom (in Pakistan) — I can visit the park, and my daughter can go to school,” Dua Safay, who fled when the Taliban government returned to power in 2021.
“There’s no future for me or my daughter in Afghanistan,” added Safay, whose real name has been changed.
Some 600,000 Afghans have crossed the border into Pakistan since the Taliban government implemented their austere version of Islamic law.
“They will be sent back to a country where conditions are extremely harsh, especially for women and children,” according to Moniza Kakar, a Pakistan-based human rights lawyer.
“These people fled to escape persecution. Forcing them back into that fire is a violation of international law.”
Millions of Afghans have traveled to Pakistan over the past four decades, fleeing successive conflicts including the Soviet invasion, a civil war and the post-9/11 US-led occupation.
The ethnic Pashtun belt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which borders Afghanistan shares close cultural and linguistic ties with Afghan Pashtuns.

This picture taken on April 3, 2025 shows Afghan refugees walking through a refugee camp in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AFP)

Around 1.3 million Afghans with resident cards issued by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) are allowed to remain in the country but have been banned from the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
“Over 1,000 people have been moved to detention centers in the past three to four days, while thousands are leaving voluntarily all over Pakistan,” Kakar added.
Many families fear being mistreated or extorted for money by the authorities if they are detained, or of being separated from relatives.
“If I have to go, I’ll go in tears, with a broken heart,” said 43-year-old Naimatullah, who was born in Pakistan and has never been to Afghanistan.
“They (people) won’t even see me as an Afghan — they’ll call me Pakistani. I am a nobody.”
After the deadline, Samiullah, who was born in an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan and is married to a Pakistani woman, will be considered an illegal foreigner.
“My wife will not be able to go with me, my daughters are from here. It is a constant struggle. I can’t get caught,” the 29-year-old told AFP.

This picture taken on April 3, 2025 shows Afghan refugees gathered inside a room at a camp in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AFP)

Tens of thousands of Afghans living in Pakistan who are waiting to be relocated to Western nations also fear being deported.
Most are advised by Western nations to cross into Pakistan where their asylum claims take months to be processed.
Among them is Samia Hamza, a 31-year-old women’s rights activist and mother of four, currently in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
“They gave us a support letter but the Pakistani police does not recognize it,” she told AFP.
“We need to stay one more month in Pakistan, then we will receive our visa to Brazil and leave.”


European experts to arrive in Islamabad tomorrow to train Pakistani aviation inspectors

Updated 06 April 2025
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European experts to arrive in Islamabad tomorrow to train Pakistani aviation inspectors

  • Pakistan has recently witnessed a massive surge in militant violence, including deadly suicide attacks
  • The development comes months after EU lifted its ban on PIA and authorized Airblue to fly to the bloc

ISLAMABAD: A team from the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) will arrive in Islamabad on Monday to provide specialized security training and certification to Pakistani aviation inspectors, a Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) official said on Sunday, amid growing security concerns in the South Asian country.
Pakistan has recently witnessed a massive surge in militant violence, including deadly suicide attacks, in its two western provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2025 report, Pakistan is the second-most affected country by terrorist violence, with a 45 percent rise in deaths in 2024.
Pakistan reached out to the ECAC for the training of its civil aviation inspectors after the resumption of Pakistani flights to the EU in Jan. this year, according to PCAA officials.
“The ECAC team is arriving in Pakistan tomorrow to conduct training of our inspectors on two key areas of Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) and Explosive Detection Dogs (EDD),” PCAA Director of Aviation Security Shahid Qadir told Arab News.
“The training aims to enhance their ability to inspect explosive detection machines as well as guide the handlers of detection dogs on key focus areas and essential elements to ensure the highest standards of inspection.”
In November, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) lifted its ban on the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and authorized another local airline, Airblue, to operate flights to Europe. The ban had been in place since June 2020 due to concerns over the ability of Pakistani aviation authorities to meet international standards.
Qadir said the PCAA was committed to meeting all international standards and it was ensuring the credentials of Pakistani inspectors align with those of developed countries in Europe and the United States.
“The two-member ECAC team will conduct a four-day training at Islamabad International Airport, where twelve of our aviation security regulatory inspectors will receive the training,” the official said.
“They will conduct the training and certify the inspectors upon its completion.”
He said this training would enhance the Pakistani team’s specialization and strengthen the country’s credibility, urging aviation inspectors to apply across all airports in Pakistan.
Aviation security is the most frequently inspected area each year, according to Qadir. During such inspections, one of the first things international regulators review is the profile of inspectors.
“When they see the courses, training, and certifications our inspectors have completed, they recognize that we meet international standards,” he added.


Islamabad, Beijing sign agreement to boost Pakistan’s cotton production

Updated 06 April 2025
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Islamabad, Beijing sign agreement to boost Pakistan’s cotton production

  • As per agreement, Chinese and Pakistani institutes will work on genetically improving cotton to increase its production
  • Cotton is one of Pakistan’s most important crops, having a massive 51% share in country’s total foreign exchange earnings

ISLAMABAD: Two prominent institutes owned by the governments in China and Pakistan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boost Pakistan’s cotton production through technological methods, state broadcaster reported on Sunday. 

Cotton is one of Pakistan’s most important cash crops. At present, Pakistan is the fifth-largest producer of cotton and the third-largest producer of cotton yarn in the world, according to the Ayub Agricultural Institute. 

Cotton has a 0.8% share in Pakistan’s GDP and a massive 51% share in the country’s total foreign exchange earnings. Cotton production in Pakistan has contributed to a vibrant textile industry with over 1,000 ginning factories and around 400 textile mills across the country. 

“The MoU has been signed between the Ayub Agricultural Research Institute of Pakistan (AAIR) and the Institute of Cotton Research (ICR) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,” Radio Pakistan said in a report. 

It said that as per the agreement, AAIR and ICR will work on genetically improving cotton to increase its production and promote Pakistan’s cotton industry globally.

ICR is China’s only state-level organization for professional cotton research. It focuses on basic and applied research, and organizes and presides over major national cotton research projects that address significant science and technology-related issues in cotton production. 

Established in 1962, Punjab government’s AAIR describes itself as one of the country’s most prestigious research institutes that says its mission is to develop new varieties of crops and technologies for food safety. 

The agreement takes place as Pakistan faces a surge in cotton imports this year due to low production. According to the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee, factories in Pakistan have received 5.51 million bales of cotton as of January this year, a significant decline of 34% compared to last year.

Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, which produces the most cotton out of all provinces in the country, grew 2.7 million bales, a decline of more than 36% compared to last year. 

Experts blame the low production of cotton due to irregular weather patterns brought about by climate change.