Liquor sales continue across Sindh despite legal restrictions

Alcohol is on sale across Sindh throughout the year from about 150 licensed shops, nearly 70 of them in Karachi, ARY News reported, in a piece that asks how the trade continues under laws that restrict purchase to non-Muslims.

The report looked at the licensing system as a whole rather than at a single seizure or case. Under Pakistan's law, the production and sale of alcoholic drinks are permitted only under specific licence conditions. Muslims are barred from drinking. Non-Muslims may buy alcohol subject to the requirements set out in the rules.

Licences are issued under provisions of the Hudood Ordinance, and the same law sets penalties for prohibited consumption. ARY News said the steady availability of liquor across the province raises questions about how far those rules are enforced.

The outlet referred to a 2017 Sindh High Court judgment on a ban on alcohol sales. A three-member bench of the Supreme Court later set that decision aside, allowing licensed sales to continue.

Duties collected on alcohol sales in Sindh rose 55 per cent in 2022 compared with the year before, according to figures the report cited.

Representatives of minority communities objected to the use of non-Muslim identities in the licensing system. Atam Prakash, chairman of the minorities committee of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and Saleem Michael of the Christian Helpline said alcohol is not permitted in their religions and that minority communities should not be used to justify drinking by others.

Both alleged that some influential people and politicians had obtained liquor licences in the names of their non-Muslim employees. ARY News did not independently verify the allegation.

Data from the Sindh Excise and Taxation Department shows the province licenses wholesalers and retail wine shops as well as agents who import and distribute foreign liquor, the report said.