LAHORE: The Punjab government on Friday announced a new set of rules and regulations for kite-flying during next year’s Basant festival.
After nearly two decades, a three-day Basant festival was celebrated in Lahore in February, following Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s decision to lift a ban on the cultural event of celebration, colours and kite-flying, with strict regulations.
The festival was banned in 2007 because of the increasing number of deaths and serious injuries caused by sharp strings, particularly to motorcyclists and pillion riders, as well as by celebratory gunfire.
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari has said that the festival will be celebrated in February 2027 and will be “bigger and better than the one held this year”.
Speaking to Dawn, Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said, “The new regulations have been issued on the directives of CM Maryam to ensure the protection of life and property.”
She said that compliance with these instructions would be mandatory for every citizen, building owner, and event organiser. She said that kite-flying will only be allowed on secure rooftops, with a boundary wall at least three-and-a-half feet high.
“Parents and guardians have been directed to ensure continuous supervision of children,” she said. The minister said children will not be allowed near roof edges without adult supervision as “their safety is the top priority”.
According to the new rules, running, jumping and hanging over the edges on rooftops have been completely banned.
The rules also prohibit the “overcrowding of rooftops”, adding that the “number of persons present on a rooftop at any time shall not exceed its safe load-bearing capacity”.
Meanwhile, the rules also hold the organisers of events responsible for managing the size of the crowd. The new rules also prohibit the “use of loud music, DJ systems, high-decibel sound systems, or any other activity causing noise pollution or disturbance to public order and tranquillity”.
To maintain public decorum, the new rules have banned any act “causing nuisance, harassment, obscenity, indecent behaviour, or disturbance to neighbours or the general public”. Under the rules, such acts will be considered an offence under Sections 290, 292-A and 509 of the Pakistan Penal Code
The new rules also mandate the availability of first aid kits and access to them at all premises where kite-flying activities are organised. Under the rules, in case of accidents or violations, building owners and event organisers will be held individually and jointly responsible.
The chief minister said in a statement that the regulations were issued to ensure the celebration of kite-flying is safe and to prevent the loss of precious lives.
“Strict legal action will be taken against the violators as playing with lives in the name of kite-flying will not be tolerated under any circumstances,“ the chief minister said.
She directed deputy commissioners (DCs) and district police officers (DPOs) to ensure the implementation of the rules. The chief minister also appreciated the public for complying with rules and regulations during Basant celebrations this year.
“Citizens of Lahore fully implemented the rules during Basant. I am confident that during the first phase of Basant 2027, the people of Lahore will again ensure compliance with the regulations,” CM Maryam said.
Climate colonialism argues that the climate crisis is not an accident — it is the outcome of centuries of extraction.
The world’s richest countries, a small percentage of the global population, are responsible for the majority of historical greenhouse gas emissions while regions like South Asia contribute little but face the harshest impact today.
It is estimated that the G20 countries produce about 80 per cent year on year of global greenhouse gases. This disproportionate extraction and consumption of resources by a handful of countries contributes to crises that the rest of the world pays for.
The climate colonialism framework connects past exploitation with present suffering by examining the drivers of the climate crisis — colonialism, capitalism and consumerism.
Ahmed Rafay Alam, an environmental lawyer and former member of the Pakistan Climate Change Council, discusses all this and much more as he dives into drivers behind the climate crisis with DawnNews.
As Pakistan confronts the accelerating realities of climate change, the urgency to move from awareness to action has never been greater.
Despite contributing minimally to global emissions, Pakistan remains among the most climate-vulnerable nations, underscoring the critical need for coordinated, locally grounded, and globally informed responses.
The Breathe Pakistan International Climate Change Conference 2026 on May 6 and 7 brings together policymakers, experts, and stakeholders from across sectors to examine these intersecting challenges and chart a path forward.
See the agenda here.
More than 100 activists aboard aid ships bound for Gaza were taken to the Greek island of Crete on Friday after Israeli forces seized their vessels in international waters near Greece, flotilla organisers said.
The activists were part of a second Global Sumud Flotilla, launched in recent months in an attempt to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance.
The ships set sail from the Spanish port of Barcelona on April 12.
On Friday, an Israeli army ship transferred 168 members of the flotilla crew to Greek boats, which then took them to shore, where buses and an ambulance waited for them, organisers said and Reuters footage showed.
Former Jamaat-i-Islami senator Mushtaq Ahmad is also part of the Global Sumud Flotilla mission, though it is not immediately clear if he was among those taken into Israeli custody.
Before communications were jammed, he posted videos to social media platform X saying, “Flotilla under attack, Israeli terrorist army has captured 11 of our boats.”
Israel’s foreign ministry called the flotilla organisers “professional provocateurs” and “Israel will not allow the breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza”.
Two activists were detained by Israeli authorities, according to statements from Israel and the organisers of the flotilla, who identified them as Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila.
Spain’s foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, accused Israel of illegally arresting Abu Keshek and demanded his immediate release.
Israel’s foreign ministry said Abu Keshek was suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organisation and Avila was suspected of illegal activity, adding that both would be taken to Israel for questioning.
In a post on their Telegram channel, organisers of the flotilla alleged that activists had been denied adequate food and water and “forced to sleep on floors that were deliberately and repeatedly flooded” aboard an Israeli naval vessel, describing their treatment as “40 hours of calculated cruelty”.
It said some suffered injuries, including broken noses and cracked ribs, when they were kicked and dragged across the deck with their hands tied after they tried to protest against the detention of their two fellow activists.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the allegations of mistreatment.
Germany’s and Italy’s foreign ministries issued a joint statement saying they were following developments with “deep concern”.
A source who asked not to be identified said that while 22 boats had been intercepted by Israel, 47 others were still sailing off southern Crete and planned to anchor there at some point before continuing onwards to Gaza. Each ship is carrying about a ton of food, medical and other equipment, the source said.
The 22 vessels were seized by Israel late on Wednesday in international waters off Greece’s Peloponnese peninsula, which is hundreds of miles from Gaza, the flotilla’s organisers said.
In a statement on Thursday, the US State Department threatened “to impose consequences” against those who support the flotilla, which it cast as pro-Hamas.
Pro-Palestinian activists say Israel and the US wrongly conflate their advocacy for Palestinian rights as support for Hamas.
Last October, Israel’s military halted a previous flotilla assembled by the same organisation, arresting Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and more than 450 participants. That followed other seaborne attempts to reach blockaded Gaza.
Palestinians and international aid bodies say supplies reaching Gaza are still insufficient, despite a ceasefire reached in October that included guarantees of increased aid.
Most of Gaza’s more than two million people have been displaced, many now living in bombed-out homes and makeshift tents pitched on open ground, roadsides, or atop the ruins of destroyed buildings.
Israel, which controls all access to the Gaza Strip, denies withholding supplies for its residents.
Pakistan and 10 other countries have condemned the “Israeli assault” on the Global Sumud Flotilla, which they said was as a peaceful civilian humanitarian initiative aimed at drawing the attention of the international community to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
A joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Turkiye, Brazil, Jordan, Spain, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Colombia, Maldives, South Africa and Libya said the Israeli attacks against the vessels and the unlawful detention of humanitarian activists in international waters constituted “flagrant violations of international law and international humanitarian law”.
Madrid blasted the seizure and said it had summoned Israel’s charge d’affaires in Spain.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accused Israel of “once again violating international law by attacking a civilian flotilla in waters that do not belong to it”, urging the EU to freeze bilateral ties.
Flotilla organiser, meanwhile, termed the Israeli action “piracy”.
“This is the unlawful seizure of human beings on the open sea near Crete, an assertion that Israel can operate with total impunity, far beyond its own borders, with no consequences,” the said in a statement.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Friday directed that an effective regulatory system for virtual assets in line with international standards should be operationalised as soon as possible
The remarks came as PM Shehbaz met with State Minister and Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib in Lahore, according to a handout by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
“PM Shehbaz directed that an effective regulatory system for virtual assets in line with international standards should be fully operationalised as soon as possible to promote the digital economy in Pakistan and enhance investor confidence,” the handout said.
During the meeting, the prime minister said that special measures should be taken to provide training to the youth in modern technologies, particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence and digital finance, so that the country’s workforce can be aligned with future requirements.
Saqib also briefed PM Shehbaz on the PVARA’s transition into an operational regulator and the launch of a regulatory sandbox, the statement said.
The premier was told that innovation was being introduced in areas such as AI-powered payments and regulated virtual asset services, the handout stated. He was also told that work was underway to prepare national institutions, the workforce, and the regulatory framework for the next wave of economic transformation, it added.
Earlier this month, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had announced a significant policy change, legalising and encouraging the use of virtual assets through the enactment of the Virtual Assets Act 2026. Under the Act, PVARA is the statutory authority responsible for the licensing, regulation, supervision and oversight of virtual asset activities in Pakistan.
On Monday, the authority also stated that any agreement or pilot announced involving virtual assets required prior authorisation.
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