Daily Times

LAHORE: A resolution was submitted in the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday demanding ban on cultural festival Basant the day after Provincial Minister for Information & Culture Fayyazul Hassan Chohan gave a hint to celebrate the historical festival in the second week of February.

According to details, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz lawmaker Hina Pervaiz Butt submitted a resolution while demanding the ban on Basant citing the reason that thousands of people have lost their lives due to kite-flying in the past.

“The Punjab government has taken an insane decision to celebrate Basant as the Supreme Court had imposed a complete ban on the festival in 2005 while legislation was also made in 2009 against the festival,” said the resolution submitted by the female lawmaker of opposition benches. She further added in her resolution that thousands of people have lost their lives because of the lethal string.

“Pakistan stands at 150th in the list of developed countries and the government is indulging itself to celebrate Basant instead of focusing on the economic condition of the country,” she said while adding that the government has committed the contempt of court by announcing Basant.

“This house demands to keep the ban on Basant intact and the apex court should take suo-motu action over the issue,” the resolution said.

“The Punjab government should immediately take back the decision to celebrate Basant as the opposition will not let the government to take the precious lives of innocent people,” the resolution concluded.

It is pertinent to mention that Information & Culture Fayyazul Hassan Chohan said on Tuesday that Basant would be celebrated in the second week of February and an eight member committee has also been constituted to devise the ways and means in order to avoid the deaths due to the killer string.

The committee would represent the officials from police, district administration, law and culture departments to devise the strategy and will submit its report within a week. If the committee gives a go-ahead to the festival then the historical festivity would be celebrated after a gap of almost 10 years as it was in 2008 when the festival was celebrated last time in the provincial metropolitan. The provincial minister also said that the historical festival used to bring billions of rupees every year to the country and thousands of people used to get employment opportunities just because of this very festival and no government can even think of snatching the employment opportunities from its citizens and therefore the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s government took the decision to celebrate Basant.

Published in Daily Times, December 20^th 2018.