Police want harsh sentences for kite flying

Proposed amendments to law submitted to chief secretary

LAHORE:

After claiming to follow a zero-tolerance policy regarding the ban on kite flying for over one and a half decades, police officials have recommended changes in the related legislation.

CCPO Lahore Ghulam Mahmood Dogar said while speaking to The Express Tribune that the police had suggested heavier fines and sentences for the offence and recommendations with proposed amendments to the Punjab Prohibition of Kite Flying Act 2001 had been submitted to the chief secretary for approval of Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar so that the dangerous activity could be eliminated under a new legal framework.

Sharing details of the recommendations, Dogar said federal government institutions including the FIA, Ministry of Commerce and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) should be involved in a strategy to disrupt the supply chain of kites, sharp twines and related banned items to eliminate the crime permanently.

He added that to curb manufacturing of kites and twine, the police had proposed minimum imprisonment of one year and maximum five years, fine of Rs500,000 to Rs2 million or both.

For selling kites, the proposed jail term is one to five years and fine Rs200,000 to Rs500,000.

In case of flying kites, a minimum imprisonment of three months and maximum one year, fine of Rs50,000 to Rs100,000 or both sentences have been suggested.

The official said the Cyber Crime Wing of the FIA should have the mandate for action against online pages and websites involved in promoting the sale of kites, twine and related items. It has also been suggested that the FBR and commerce ministry be approached to ban the import of nylon chords and metal wires being used to manufacture twine.

The CCPO claimed that the initiative, if approved, will create strong deterrence for saving the lives of people. He also appealed to the citizens, particularly parents, to stop their children from indulging in the sport.

He said kite flying is a life threatening activity and the police have taken concrete measures to curb it.

He said he had directed police officers to take strict action against kite manufacturers, sellers as well as flyers. Lahore police had arrested over 40 people for violating the ban on kite flying, registered cases against them and seized thousands of kites and hundreds of string rolls during the past month, he added.

Former CCPO Zulfiqar Hameed had also written a letter to then IGP Shoib Dastagir in July last year regarding the need for introducing amendments to the law.

Injuries and deaths due to kite strings continue unabated. In August 8, 2020, kite string had claimed the life of another minor in the provincial capital’s Shafiqabad area.

In May last year, a kite string ran over the neck of 18-year-old Usman Yousaf, a factory worker from Narowal.

Last year in November, an incident was reported in Wahdat Colony. The victim, eight-year-old Abu Bakar, suffered a severe injury on his neck.