Pak bans kite flying

Punjab Governor Salman Taseer has said that he would happily court arrest if the crime was "to fly a kite." Imtiaz Ahmad reports.

Punjab Governor Salman Taseer has said that he would happily court arrest if the crime was "to fly a kite."

HT Image

His comments came after Supreme Court banned kite flying ahead of the Basant festival to be celebrated later this month.

The Basant festival - which is marked with the flying of kites in Lahore - has attracted thousands of people - many from India, but this year the government has made plans to strictly enforce the ban on kite flying.

Owing to deaths caused by the use of reinforced strings and wires for flying kites - in one incident the throat of a child was slit by one such string - the Supreme Court in 2005 declared that kite flying in urban areas was illegal.

Last year, the ban was eased during Basant.