Some Kite Festivals are more Exciting than Others

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Pakistan's Supreme Court Extends Kite Ban
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Dec 10, 8:54 AM (ET)

By ASIF SHAHZAD

(AP) This Feb. 5, 2005 file photo shows kite enthusiasts buying kites to take part in the kite flying...
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LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan's Supreme Court has extended a ban on making, selling and flying kites that it imposed two months ago after ruling that the sport has become increasingly deadly, an official said Saturday.
The court decided on Friday to extend the ban until it meets next on Jan. 26, said Aftab Iqbal, advocate general for eastern Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital.
While the court was hearing the case, police swung batons and lobbed tear gas shells outside the building to disperse about 500 kite-makers and kite-flying enthusiasts who were trying to attend the proceedings.
Lahore is the site of Basant, an annual kite-flying festival where tens of thousands of people fly kites from rooftops and sports fields.
Hardline Muslims oppose Basant as a waste of money and consider it a Hindu festival. It is also celebrated with loud music and yellow dresses.
The sport sometimes turns deadly when people die from wounds from metal kite strings or falls from roofs. The Supreme Court on Oct. 25 decided to ban kite flying in view of the increasing deaths, Iqbal said.
About 19 people died and more than 200 were injured in February this year during Basant, which means "yellow" in the Hindi language and heralds spring.
Iqbal said the government is planning to pass a law for a partial or complete ban on kite flying or restricting kites to fields or open spaces.
"A draft law would be ready for examination by the Supreme Court when it meets next time," he said.
Violations of the Supreme Court ban can be punished by up to six months in jail.
A lawyer representing 90 kite manufacturers who oppose the kite flying ban said it will make some 100,000 people jobless and denied the festival was linked to Hinduism.
"The festivity has nothing to do with religion," Malik Abdul Qayyum said.
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