After 20-Year Ban, Kites Fill Lahore's Skies During Pakistani Spring Festival

Thousands gathered on rooftops across Lahore to fly kites for the first time in years, celebrating the spring festival of Basant. The colorful tradition had been banned for two decades due to injuries and deaths during past celebrations, making this revival a moment of cultural reclamation and joy. Families and children filled the sky with vibrant kites as music played from loudspeakers across the city. The government approved a limited, regulated version of the festival after years of public petitions.