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| December 9, 2005 | Friday | Ziqa’ad 6, 1426 |
Punjab cuts a sorry figure on kite ban
LAHORE, Dec 8: The Punjab government on Thursday cut a sorry figure before the Supreme Court for not enforcing a regulatory regime on kite-flying and undertaking the legislation of a comprehensive law on the trade, besides failing to implement the one-month ban on the sport as ordained by the court in its Oct 25 order.
The reproach was felt even more when Sindh, Balochistan and the NWFP governments reported to the apex court that they had imposed a complete ban on kite-flying and also drafted laws to lend legal support to the administrative step. Besides, the three provinces reported no untoward kite-related incident after the ban while the Punjab regretted with two casualties, including that of two-year old Tehreem from Shad Bagh whose throat was slit by a razor-sharp string during the month-long prohibition.
The NWFP government also submitted that it had appointed inspectors under the local government ordinance to ensure strict implementation of the ban.
On the other hand, the Punjab government stated it was yet to convene a meeting to consider an enactment. Advocate-General Chaudhry Aftab Iqbal submitted the chief secretary had convened such a meeting in two weeks time.
Comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday, Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmad and Justice Karamat Nazir Bhandari, the apex court, which is seized of the matter through a suo moto notice, extended the ban till Friday when it would again proceed in the case.
The specific proposition the Supreme Court is to determine — whether kite-flying should be put under a complete ban across the country; if the ‘dangerous sport’ is to be regulated through federal and provincial laws; can the sport be toned down by specifying the size of the kite and nature of the string, and earmarking areas for the game so that its ‘dangerous’ aspect could be minimized; and what institutional arrangements should be made to ensure that the state machinery could wholeheartedly implement a legislation to this effect.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry remarked that the apex court held the protection of the life and property of the people in the highest esteem, and the right to business, as provided by article 18 of the Constitution and which advocate Mohammad Afzal Sandhu cited on behalf of kite-dealers from Faisalabad, was not a prerogative superior to the right to life envisaged in the same Constitution.
The CJP also directed the federal and provincial governments to undertake substantial legislation, remove lacunae in the enforcement of local government ordinances by appointing inspectors to ensure implementation of the ban.
The CJP’s observation was supported by all the counsel and others who addressed the full court. They endorsed the view of a complete ban on kite-flying, prohibition on the manufacturing of the kite and the string and introduction of a regulatory rule for the dangerous sport.
Upon a court query, AG Aftab Iqbal submitted that the provincial government was thinking in terms of confining the sport to specific areas and open spaces like parks. Kite-flying in city streets and on the rooftops might be prohibited under the law which was being enforced.
The AG, amicus curea Shahid Hamid and Ahmad Bilal Soofi, also pointed out lacunae in the Punjab Prohibition of Dangerous Kite-Flying Activities Ordinance, 2001, stating that the law did not take care of manufacturing, transportation and trade of the kite and string and also lacked in certain important definitions which had made punitive action by trial courts under the law difficult. They stated that the law should be modified in a way that it could take cognizance of all the offences.
The court directed the Punjab AG to get copies of the laws drafted by other provinces to improve the ordinance.
A lively debate was the hallmark of Thursday’s proceedings during which certain lawyers talked of a cultural tradition associated with kite-flying. Replying to the assertion, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday remarked that the apex court did not want to infringe upon the festivities and jollity of the people. It was also not against kite-flying as it used to take place in the past. It was concerned with only the killing string and when the human life was involved, no other consideration could rule higher than the good of society and humanity. Justice Ramday said the element of violent jubilation, fatal to humanity, had permeated the game since the drug mafia surfaced in the country.
Supreme Court Bar Association president Malik Mohammad Qayyum, the counsel for about 90 kite manufacturers and dealers, stated that the festivity could be banned as a dangerous sport, but its recreational aspect should be protected through a comprehensive law to save the ancillary business with which about 100,000 people were associated. He was still on his legs when the proceedings were deferred till Friday (today).
Advocates S M Masood and Afzal Sandhu represented kite dealers and manufacturers.
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