ISLAMABAD: Punjab authorities have enforced Section 144 and imposed strict limits on kite materials and imagery ahead of the Basant kite-flying festival, which is set to return in Lahore next month for the first time since 2007 under tight safety and public-order conditions.

The move comes as the three-day Basant celebration — a traditional spring cultural festival marked by kite flying — is scheduled from Feb. 6 to 8 under the Punjab Kite Flying Act 2025, ending an 18-year hiatus after years of ban amid deadly accidents and safety concerns.

Basant, once a vibrant tradition signaling the arrival of spring with colorful kites and rooftop festivities, was outlawed in the mid-2000s after authorities linked metal-coated kite strings and celebratory gunfire to multiple deaths and injuries.

“A 30-day ban has been imposed under Section 144 on the manufacture, sale, purchase and use of kites bearing religious or political symbols or imagery,” the Punjab Home Department said in a statement.

“Kites displaying the image of any country’s flag or a political party’s flag will also be prohibited,” it added. “The manufacture, transportation, storage, sale and use of kites in violation of these restrictions have been declared punishable offenses.”

Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure allows authorities to impose different kinds of restrictions to maintain public order and safety.

The statement highlighted “concerns that provocative elements could use religious or political symbols during Basant.”

It said that authorities have permitted only plain or multicolored kites during the event.

“The Punjab government has allowed Basant as a recreational festival under a ‘safe Basant’ framework,” the statement added. “No violations of the law will be permitted during Basant.”