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Illegal kite festival - 23rd February 2022

Hundreds of young people have celebrated the Pakistan kite festival despite a government ban. The festival called Basant is an ancient colourful festival that marks the arrival of spring and the blustery winds it brings. But, it was banned by authorities in 2007 following a spate of accidents.

Participants, in the past, used acid soaked string and piano wire in kite-fighting battles, causing terrible injuries and sometimes death to people caught by wires tangled across roads.

Victorious participants and their supporters also caused further deaths or injuries by firing into the air in celebration with bullet rounds falling back to earth.

In Rawalpindi, which became the focus of the illegal celebrations, over 1,500 police officers played cat and mouse with kite flyers flitting across rooftops. Waseem Riaz is a senior superintendent of police.

Waseem Riaz: "We have deployed our teams equipped with drone technology on three different high-rise buildings. We are using technology and binoculars to identify the points where kite flying, or aerial firing is taking place."

But many participants believe that it's not the festival that should be banned but some of the dangerous practices like firing into the air. Furkan Ahmed is a kite flyer.

Furkan Ahmed: "There should be a ban on aerial firing and the chemical strings. It's not in our domain to put a ban on the chemical strings. The government should ban the manufacturing of chemical strings. We are celebrating Basant peacefully, there is no aerial firing and no brawls."

Until the ban, Basant was generally a family affair with girls traditionally wearing yellow to mark the occasion. Those who experienced the festival when young hope that their children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy this colourful celebration once again.