Jamaat-e-Islami Demands Ban on Basant After String of Injuries and Deaths

Lahore( Nazrana Times) Ali Imran Chattha 

Following a series of tragic incidents during Basant (kite-flying) celebrations, Jamaat-e-Islami has called for a complete ban on the festival in residential areas.
The demand came after Jamaat-e-Islami Lahore Amir, Advocate Zia-ud-Din Ansari, visited 37-year-old Muhammad Yasin at General Hospital. Yasin is being treated for serious injuries sustained from a kite string. He was accompanied by Public Aid Committee Lahore President Qaiser Sharif and local leaders including Hafiz Laiq Shahid, Dr. Burhan, and Ghulam Hussain Tabassum.
Speaking to the media outside the hospital, Advocate Zia-ud-Din Ansari strongly condemned the festivities, stating, "Basant is not recreation anymore; it is becoming a bloody sport." He highlighted the severe human cost, reporting, "In just 18 hours, 2 people have been killed and more than 31 injured."
Ansari argued that allowing Basant in streets and neighborhoods is equivalent to playing with public lives. He directly appealed to the Punjab Chief Minister, demanding an immediate ban on the festival. "The responsibility for Basant accidents lies with the Punjab Chief Minister," he asserted.
He suggested that if celebrated at all, kite-flying should be confined to open fields or designated areas like the Ravi riverbank. "In the name of Basant, lights are being extinguished in homes," he added, referring to the fatalities.
The Jamaat-e-Islami leader also demanded that First Information Reports (FIRs) be registered concerning the deaths and injuries caused during the Basant celebrations.