33
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday directed the excise and taxation department to revoke liquor licences granted in violation of the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order 1979.
Headed by Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, a two-judge bench also directed the director general of the E&T department to ensure within two days issuance of notices to liquor shop owners in connection with cancellation of their licences.
The bench gave the direction while hearing a petition seeking cancellation of the licences and closure of the liquor shops being operated in Muslim-majority areas.
The chief justice questioned the representatives of provincial authorities under what law licences for running liquor shops were issued.
He explained that the licences may be issued for manufacture, import, or sale of liquor on the ground that such liquor was required for consumption by non-Muslim citizen of Pakistan as a part of a religious ceremony as per Article 17 of the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order 1979.
The excise and taxation department’s director general submitted that any non-Muslim could purchase 16 bottles of beer and eight bottles of wine in a month. He argued that the non-Muslims could not even consume 10 per cent of the quota as they could not financially afford it.
To a court query, the director general said that the wine shops were being run since long and added that the licence fee was enhanced to Rs700,000 to discourage the opening of wine shops in compliance of the court’s previous order.
Meanwhile, the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) submitted a report showing details of the Muslim and non-Muslim population in the city.
According to the report, 2,809 Christians and 2,572 Hindu reside in the Central district, 69,820 Christians and 13,356 Hindus live in Karachi East, 16,329 Christians and 8,877 Hindus live in Malir, 24,406 Christians and 4,422 Hindus in Karachi West, and 57,568 Christians and 43,143 Hindus in Karachi South.
Earlier, the excise and taxation department informed the judges that there were 120 liquor shops across the province. Of them, 59 shops are in Karachi including 11 being operated in DHA and Clifton areas.
Published in Dawn October 19th, 2016
Read more
On DawnNews
Comments (33) Closed
Oct 19, 2016 09:26am
Bottles are beautiful.
Recommend
0
Oct 19, 2016 10:12am
Corruption is far worst than liquor... liquor may affect the morals of the individuals . it may affect his family or job but corruption affects the entire nation.. yet no one talks about it... i wish to know what is really Islamic in Pakistan... is it number of mosques and prayers... can some one enlightened me...folks.. Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart....
Recommend
0
Oct 19, 2016 12:33pm
This move will only encourage smuggling of foreign liquor which the deep-pockets will afford but what about the poor ? They will consume cheap illicit liquor and die. But then what is their life's worth and then what would happen to the breweries churning out liquor bottles. These will be sold not in regulated liquor shops but in homes and costly of course with no surety of genuineness. Sometimes in this country decisions are made to start a chain of lawlessness.
What about pan chewing, gutka eating, smoking pious ones. They have a free hand. One pan eating guy told me: "my one tobacco pan is equivalent to one peg of whiskey" and he was an ex-alcoholic and he knew what he meant.
Recommend
0
Oct 19, 2016 02:19pm
prohibition never did any good to the country, it only makes corruption easier, it makes people pay bribe instead of taxes. Anybody who really wants to drink either Muslim or not will get it .....The law of business will apply here ....If there is a demand there will be a supply.....The government should tax it and collect the revenue instead of throwing that money in bribe.
Recommend
0
Oct 19, 2016 02:41pm
Well authoriries need to do risk assessment before implementing any policy. Interesting, even though alcohol isn't ready available in Lahore, per capita alcohol consumption of Lahore is mush height than that of karachi. It's time to understand that forcing morals isn't the solution. State should see the sliver lining behind this untapped revenue source and let people enjoy their private lives.
Recommend
0
Oct 19, 2016 03:54pm
This is a tax on the poor who are the ones that purchase local liquor. The rich will continue to buy their imported liquor from the bootlegger. This is similar to increasing taxes on cigarettes; the rich are not affected as they buy smuggled expensive cigarettes but the the poor person who buys local cigarettes is affected.
Recommend
0
Oct 19, 2016 09:29pm
@ KHANM - Issuance of any license in violation to local law is part of “corruption,” therefore, this court order is a measure against corruption, and instead of condemning this court decision rather we should commend it.
Recommend
0
Oct 19, 2016 10:40pm
Drinking liquor is fast becoming an addiction in our society and PPP is the mainly responsible to let liquor outlets open in their tenure. The irony here is that we are seeing females also being attracted towards this menace.
Recommend
0
Oct 20, 2016 01:16am
I witnessed with strange and sorrow feelings that people are purchasing wine openly even accompanied with their family,from wine shop situated in gulistane johar(perfume chowk). Many or mostly so called Muslims are consuming then and ther,and nobody stops them.
Recommend
0
Oct 20, 2016 07:36am
Please close all wine shops as they are selling it to mostly Muslims ! Most of the non Mudlims even can not afford to buy it ! If it is not banned then it will replace soft drinks in major cities such as Karachi , Lahore and Islamabad .
Recommend
0
Oct 20, 2016 08:41am
If the licences issued are unlawful, then the issuing authorities must also be brought to justice.
Recommend
0
Oct 20, 2016 03:05pm
Instead of banning liquor why don't you give education to your kids that what is good and what is bad, and then give him option to decide what is right.
If your education is correct he or she will be able to decide easily else correct your education system. But don't force him to accept or reject, its up to him only.
Recommend
0
Oct 20, 2016 03:17pm
@NASR Where do you think the daily expenses of Bilawal House comes from???
Recommend
0
Oct 20, 2016 03:23pm
@Khan USA ... Are you really in the USA Khan sb. If so then surely you must have heard of the idiom "to each his own". Do you interfere in the daily habits or lifestyle of Americans? I doubt it!
Recommend
0
Oct 20, 2016 03:50pm
Most of the liquor sold to the minorities is consumed by the majority and they happened to be Muslim. This leads to the illegal trade and the government agencies know that very well. Therefore we should follow either complete ban on liquor and closing of all liquor manufacturing facilities or allow free flow of the liquor which should put stop to the illegal trade.
Recommend
0
Oct 20, 2016 04:48pm
There should be no ban on liquor.
Recommend
0
Oct 20, 2016 05:16pm
@khanm I fully agree with you.
Recommend
0
Oct 20, 2016 06:19pm
Does not Sindh government has other more pressing issues? These alcoholic controls are to tell the public who is in charge. Bad governance I must say.
Recommend
0
Oct 20, 2016 06:22pm
@Rais Zaidi Why do you want to be the moral police? If they want to drink, let them. What is wrong with our people who always want to legislate morality and impose their views on others. Please live and let live.
Recommend
0
Oct 20, 2016 06:22pm
Restrictions will introduce illegal trade, smuggling, and corruption.
Recommend
0
Oct 20, 2016 07:16pm
Is there any need to do moral policing. If people want and can afford, let them enjoy their drinks. The only restriction should be that they should not cause nuisances in public places.
Recommend
0
Oct 20, 2016 08:31pm
great move. Please put a blanket ban on all liquor related trade. manufacturing, import, selling.
Recommend
0
Oct 20, 2016 11:32pm
700,000 rupees for a liquor license ? Heck, no wonder why there are 120 liquor stores. Whats amazing is that 99% of people buying liquor from those stores are Muslims, true story, go look. But hey, most will argue and fight over my comment. Proof is in the pudding people, go and take a look.
Recommend
0
Oct 21, 2016 04:19am
@khanm - An individual's morals are the result of upbringing. That alcohol is forbidden in Islam is no different than any other religion's rituals which allow some things and forbid others. When drinking is a problem you find that it's the result of joblessness, powerlessness, or insanity that lead a person to abuse alcohol. Liquor has been around for 50,000 years. The world is full of people who drank beer, wine and spirit for 40 years without their morals degenerating.
Recommend
0
Oct 21, 2016 06:52am
It was early 70's, I was very young and I have witnessed how liquor shopped and hotels where liquor was served openly ransacked burned and closed forever.
Recommend
0
Oct 21, 2016 07:23am
There is no power in world that can stop anyone from consumption liquor,n it for himself.
Gujarat in India is a state which has NO liquor sale or consume policy since 47 ,butin practical you can order any brand you wish to sitting in your house.
One may be able to enforce things that can't be done in public ,but there is no way to enforce something that one wishes to do with in his house.
Recommend
0
Oct 21, 2016 08:53am
@Khan USA Let's hope and pray it does replace soft drinks in all cities, not just the major ones. Soft drinks cause obesity.
Recommend
0
Oct 21, 2016 09:14am
This will only boost smuggling of illegal liquor from abroad and brewing of cheap and dangerous liquor at homes. Anyway this is what happens when incompetant, compromised and corrupt people are elevated to high positions.
Recommend
0
Oct 21, 2016 09:39am
@fahd
Won't stop people from drinking.
Recommend
0
Oct 21, 2016 10:43am
instead of closing them down put tax on them. you got better cases solve the mystery first ayan and dr asim.
Recommend
0
Oct 21, 2016 10:51am
@Tariq Ali-Rio De Janerio and so the stuff inside also.
Recommend
0
Oct 21, 2016 01:45pm
Nearly 4 decades of liquor prohibition and still the extent of alcohol use has not diminished in the country. In the drug use survey conducted in Pakistan in 2012 (60000 respondents) 3 percent of the male and 0.04% of the female population self reported use of alcohol - of these a quarter had also consumed alcohol in the past 12 months.
One has to come to terms that prohibition hasn't worked - if you close the liquor shops the bootlegging will boost. Even in Iran and Saudi Arabia with strict laws bootlegging is common. In Pakistan how many deaths are reported each year of people consuming bad illegal alcohol. Was it a coincidence that the liquor ban in 1979 also saw an emergence of heroin epidemic in Pakistan. The courts and the government need to have a pragmatic view.
Recommend
0
Oct 21, 2016 10:49pm
We need a complete ban on liquor. Its consumption brings nothing but destruction. Sale of all substances which lead to addiction should be punished severely. Business at the expense of people's health can never be justified.
Recommend
0
