Lahore residents are celebrating the Basant festival this week. The celebrations are scheduled from February 6th to 8th, after the provincial government lifted an 18-year ban on kite flying. The authorities shared important SOPs and safety measures and also urged the participants to follow them, however, despite these precautions, tragedies related to Basant are still occurring.

In an unfortunate incident on Sunday in Lahore, young sports journalist Zain Malik tragically lost his life after falling from the fourth floor while flying a kite. Zain Malik, who was a reporter for GNN, was quite enthusiastic about Basant; he was fully participating in the celebrations. During kite flying, he fell from the rooftop of a building in Gulshan-e-Ravi on the final day of Basant. He was immediately rushed to the government-affiliated Mian Munshi District Headquarters Hospital, where he succumbed to the head injuries sustained from the fall.

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Social media users have extended prayers for his soul but are also criticizing the Basant festival as a major cause of such accidents. Many have called out participants who ignore SOPs, pointing out that the walled city of Lahore is chaotically constructed, with rooftops that are particularly dangerous for kite flying. People celebrating Basant are often blindly chasing kites, putting their lives at risk. Read comments:

Pakistani media and celebrities are currently facing severe public backlash for celebrating the Basant festival amid ongoing unrest and tragic incidents occurring across Pakistan. Many of these incidents have resulted in heavy death tolls; yet despite the human loss, celebrities have been seen dancing to Bhangra songs while wearing vibrant colours. Pakistani media outlets have also been giving special coverage to Basant.

Recently, amid the insensitive attitude of celebrities, Naeema Butt expressed grief over the Islamabad tragedy after Geo News pulled her off-air.

While responding to a question about how Basant feels, Naeema said, “It’s a great event, to be very honest, but I recently saw a video from Islamabad which really upset me. Just a day ago we were celebrating Basant, and now….” As she was completing her sentence, Huma Amir Shah immediately cut her off on Geo News while she was seated with Abdullah Sultan. Huma Amir Shah said, “Mubashir Hashmi, let’s just move on because there has been an interruption in your audio, and we have a lot to discuss.” Watch here:

Huma Amir Shah is facing criticism for her insensitive behaviour. One user wrote, “Shame on the news anchor. ‘We have a lot to talk’ — shame!” Another wrote, “Curse upon the media for showing a one-sided picture of Pakistan on the media.” One digital user stated, “The issue is not ‘audio mein nahi,’ it’s your mentality and your upbringing.” Another commented, “How shameful. They are not covering important events.” Another wrote, “This is the true representation of our media. They only report what benefits them, and the credit for this also goes to Musharraf.” A netizen stated, “I left watching GEO way earlier. I’m glad that was the right decision.” Another wrote, “The anchor and her audacity — she is the one who blamed the woman who fell into the manhole because the tragedy didn’t serve the channel.” Naeema Butt, on the other hand, is receiving huge public praise for showing empathy towards the victims. Read here: