Kite Flying Ban Violators Being Dealt with Iron Hand: CPO

News Desk 

Rawalpindi: City Police Officer (CPO) Rawalpindi Syed Khalid Hamdani has said that kite flying ban violators were being dealt with an iron hand and no one would be allowed to violate the ban.

According to a police spokesman, the CPO had directed the police officers to take strict action in accordance with the law against the violators.

He informed me that Rawalpindi district police had arrested more than 400 kite sellers, confiscated over 18,000 kites and string rolls from their possession during the crackdown launched on Thursday night and Friday.

The police also recovered weapons, sound systems, and other items from their possession.

Rawalpindi District Police had also urged the citizens to ensure that their children do not violate the ban on kite flying imposed by the provincial government; otherwise, strict action would be taken against the violators. 

The spokesman said that on the special directives of City Police Officer Rawalpindi Syed Khalid Hamdani, police were taking strict action, and the ban violators were being sent behind bars. 

The CPO had requested the parents stop their children from getting involved in such activities, as a crackdown against kite flyers had already been accelerated in the city, he added. 

Special squads had been formed to net the violators, while deputy superintendents of police and station house officers were also taking part in the operation.

He said that the officers concerned had been directed to utilise all available resources to control the kite flying and to net the ban violators and the kite sellers.

The violators were being dealt with an iron hand, and no one would be allowed to violate the law and indulge in kite flying and selling, he added. 

The use of metal string for kite flying results in the loss of human lives; therefore, all-out efforts are being made to stop kite flying, he said, adding that a special awareness campaign is also being run to control the ban violation. 

He said that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) had issued orders to speed up the crackdown against kite flying and aerial firing. 

He said Rawalpindi district police had adopted a zero-tolerance policy against kite sellers, flyers, and aerial firing, and strict action was being taken against the violators. 

The people had also been requested to report on 15 against kite flying and aerial firing so that such notorious elements could be immediately rounded up, he added. 

More than 1600 police officials were deployed to thwart any plans for Basant on Thursday night and Friday. 

Drone operators were being used to monitor kite-flying, he said. 

Parents, teachers, scholars, and civil society were also given confidence to play their role in preventing the celebration of Basant. 

The Rawalpindi police had also launched an awareness campaign about the hazards of the risky sport with the help of religious scholars, who were asked to make announcements on their respective mosque sound systems about the demerits of kite-flying. 

The police had finalised arrangements for live monitoring of all densely populated areas, while all Station House Officers (SHOs) had been directed to ensure strict surveillance of kite sellers in their areas. 

SSP Operations, Rawalpindi, Hafiz Kamran Asghar, said that no one would be allowed to violate the ban and strict action as per the law would be taken against kite flyers and sellers.

Rawalpindi district police had rounded up more than 900 violators and recovered over 76,000 kites during this season, and the crackdown would continue without any discrimination, he added.