LAHORE: The Lahore Police have arrested three men in two separate operations against illegal kite manufacturing and sale, recovering hundreds of ready-made kites and multiple spools of banned chemical-coated string, according to official statements issued by the Lahore Police Operations Wing.
In the first action, Ravi Road Police arrested two suspects identified as Bilal and Ahsan. According to the police statement, the SHO Ravi Road, along with his team, conducted the raid against individuals who were manufacturing and selling kites despite the standing prohibition.
Investigators found that the accused were moving their consignments through local transport, concealing kites inside cardboard cartons and bundles to avoid detection — a distribution method that points to an organised supply chain rather than casual street vending.
Police recovered 300 ready-made kites worth millions of rupees from the suspects’ possession, along with raw material sufficient for producing more than 200 additional kites and 12 spools of chemical-coated string. A case has been registered against both men and further investigation is under way.
In a parallel action, the Ghazi Abad Police acted on secret information during routine patrolling and arrested a suspect near Naya Pul, Ghazi Abad, who was allegedly supplying kites and string. More than 70 kites valued at millions of rupees, along with spools of chemical string, were recovered. A case has been registered and the suspect handed over to the investigation wing.
The SP City commended the SHO Ravi Road and his team for the successful operation. The DIG Operations stated that strict monitoring against kite manufacturing and selling remains in place, and that action against violators will continue.
The recoveries are significant because chemical-coated and metallic string — not kite flying itself — has been at the centre of Punjab’s enforcement policy. The festival was banned in 2007 because of the rising number of deaths and serious injuries caused by sharp strings, particularly to motorcyclists and pillion riders, as well as celebratory gunfire. Under current provincial instructions, only cotton string is permitted, and threads with more than nine strands are prohibited to reduce the risk of injury.
The crackdown comes as the licensed segment of the trade pushes for clarity on production. District Kite Flying Association office-bearers, including Chairman Khawaja Nadeem Saeed Wain and President Sheikh Saleem, told a press conference in Allama Iqbal Town that manufacturing licences should be reissued early and that production should be allowed in Punjab for four to five months from September, so adequate stocks can be prepared before the festival. Wain said citizens struggled to buy kites and string during Basant 2026 because manufacturers had limited production time.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has announced that Basant 2027 will be held in Lahore from March 12 to 14. The Punjab government has finalised SOPs for the festival and allocated Lahore’s Jallo Park area for the production of permitted kite string, with authorities also moving to control prices of kites and string.
Separately, a comprehensive set of kite-flying rules was announced for Basant 2027 with December 30, 2026 set as the deadline for full implementation, including a requirement that flying take place only on structurally sound rooftops with boundary walls of at least three and a half feet.
However, unlicensed manufacturing remains an offence — and the Ravi Road and Ghazi Abad seizures indicate the underground trade is already ramping up months before the sanctioned production window opens.
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