Another Major City Set to Host Basant After Lahore

After Lahore, Karachi could soon become the next major city to host a Basant festival, with Mayor Murtaza Wahab announcing plans to hold a kite-flying event to celebrate the arrival of spring.

Speaking to media, Wahab said Karachi will stage a Basant mela in the coming weeks, with Bagh Ibn-e-Qasim and Benazir Bhutto Park being considered as possible venues. He noted that Basant has once again become a popular talking point and said the city administration wants to channel that enthusiasm into a public festival.

In a remark that quickly drew attention, the mayor clarified that he was referring to the traditional festival and not the “kite” associated with the election symbol of Altaf Hussain’s banned political party.

He said he was not talking about that “kite,” describing it as one that has already been “cut off,” in an attempt to separate the cultural event from political references.

Wahab also urged what he described as “conspiratorial elements” to stop creating hurdles, saying people should be allowed to celebrate and the city should be made more vibrant rather than being pulled into unnecessary controversy.

During the same conversation, the Karachi mayor criticized the federal government’s role in city development, claiming it was spending nothing on Karachi, while stating that KMC was spending Rs. 46 billion.

He added that total spending in the city would reach Rs. 80 billion this year, and claimed the Sindh government, backed by the PPP, was allocating around Rs. 300 billion for Karachi-related development works.

Calling for broader cooperation, he said the prime minister should also play a role for Karachi and claimed that even voices within MQM were now acknowledging the need to strengthen local government institutions. “Criticism doesn’t solve problems,” he said, insisting the city’s issues require action rather than political point-scoring.

Wahab also took a swipe at political pressure around KMC, suggesting that talk of a no-confidence move only intensified after reports emerged that KMC accounts had received billions of rupees.