LAHORE: The police in Lahore’s New Anarkali division recovered nine spools of banned chemical kite string worth thousands of rupees on Tuesday and arrested the man found in possession of them. The recovery was made during a targeted operation in one of the oldest and most densely packed commercial quarters of the walled-city belt.
According to an official statement by SP City Farhat Abbas, a police team working under the supervision of the SHO New Anarkali acted on secret information and detained a suspect identified as Ahmed, seizing the spools of banned chemical string in his possession. Police said the accused had continued supplying the prohibited string despite the standing ban.
The arrest was not entirely quiet. Police said the suspect attempted to give the team the slip and flee during the operation, but the attempt failed and he was taken into custody at the scene. SP City Farhat Abbas said the team’s timely action ensured the arrest was completed without the suspect getting away.
Chemical and metallic kite string is prohibited across Punjab because of the injuries it causes when it is strung invisibly across a road at throat height. Motorcyclists have been the most frequent victims, and the same coated string can short electricity distribution lines and trigger localised outages. Enforcement typically intensifies through the pre-Basant months, when demand for stronger string rises and manufacturing shifts into unlicensed workshops.
New Anarkali sits at the edge of Lahore’s oldest wholesale belt, a warren of narrow lanes, upper-storey storerooms and small workshops where legitimate stock and contraband can share the same shelf. That density is exactly what makes the area attractive to string suppliers and difficult for enforcement teams, who often have to rely on tip-offs rather than routine patrolling to locate consignments. The manufacture, sale, possession and supply of banned string are offences under Punjab’s kite-flying prohibition law, which provides for imprisonment as well as fines.
A case has been registered against the accused and further investigation is under way, with officers working to identify where the nine spools were manufactured and who else sits in the distribution chain. Police officials said action against the purchase, sale and supply of banned chemical string will continue without pause.
The seizure comes as debate continues in Lahore over whether a regulated Basant could return to Punjab in 2027 — a discussion in which the chemical string trade is the single biggest sticking point. Supporters of revival argue the festival can be run safely with strict controls on string manufacture; recoveries like Tuesday’s in New Anarkali are precisely what makes officials in Lahore cautious.
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