LAHORE, Pakistan: The ban on Basant Festival would continue to remain intact as the Punjab government on Tuesday refused to accord approval for its celebration.
In a statement, the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that such festivals would not be allowed by the provincial government as these endangered peoples’ lives.
Complete BAN on Basant.. No one can b allowed to play with the lives of ppl.. concerned DPO will b responsible for any violation of ban -ss
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) February 7, 2017
The Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah also said that the government couldn’t allow kite flying festival which was causing danger to human life.
The Punjab government imposed a ban on Basant Festival in 2007 after a number of innocent people were killed due to use of chemical-coated twine.
Earlier this week, according to sources, the provincial government decided to legislate the celebration of Basant Festival, and seek the support of all the Parliamentary Parties in this regard.
“The provincial (Punjab) government will not take any unilateral decision regarding revival of ‘basant’ because it may create huge number of problems for it. So it will make contacts with all the parliamentary parties in the Punjab Assembly and develop consensus for new legislation to lift ban on the traditional ‘basant’ festival,” the sources was quoted as saying by media.
