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The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday ordered the Sindh government to shut all the liquor shops across the province.
The high court was disposing off two legal petitions, seeking closure of illegal liquor shops in the province.
The court also ordered authorities to cancel licence of all liquor shops operating in the province and issue fresh licenses after detailed scrutiny.
The ruling observed that in past licences were issued without scrutiny and fulfilment of formalities.
Irfan Ali of Thatta district argued in his petition that a liquor shop had been operating near a school in his locality. He also mentioned that liquor was easily accessible to all, including Muslims and minors as alchohol was being sold less than 50 meters away from Muslim colonies.
The second petitioner, Sheryar David, a resident of Karachi pointed out to the presence of 15 illegal wine shops in the city.
During the hearing of the case, police also submitted a report, affirming the allegations that several liquor shops were operating in violation of rules.
Meanwhile, representatives of Hindu, Christian and Sikh communities also appeared before the court, saying that consuming liquor, on occasions other than specific religious festivals, is prohibited in their respective religions.
Liqour stores sealed after SHC orders
After the Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered the Sindh government to shut all the liquor shops across the province on Thursday, police in in Badin and Thar District's capital Mithi closed down two wine shops.
Police forces were deployed outside the shops after they were shut down.
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Comments (48) Closed
Oct 27, 2016 11:16am
The liquor will always be available in the country through smugglers and corrupt custom officials.
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Oct 27, 2016 11:16am
good move. hope its implemented as well.
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Oct 27, 2016 11:21am
Why are they even issuing licenses in the first place? Liquor should be banned from the country altogether!!!!
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Oct 27, 2016 11:33am
Alcohol should be available for Christians,Hindus and Sikh people allover Pakistan!
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Oct 27, 2016 11:42am
It's as per Shareea that liquor sales be banned in all Islamic country.That way Sind High court's order is very much welcome. We should as citizens of Mamlekat E khuda dad Pakistan must abide by such regulation.
Liquor shops are a great source of sins and spoiling the sanctity of Islam
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Oct 27, 2016 11:49am
Justice done will pave betterment in the society.
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Oct 27, 2016 11:53am
Judges just pass orders without even fully understanding the implications.
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Oct 27, 2016 12:32pm
As long as there are buyers of liquor in the market, it is not practical to eliminate this trade altogether. The fact is that even though it is illegal; liquor is available and sold through out the country for the sole financial benefit to mafia/s involved in this trade. The government should regulate and tax liquor sales instead of banning it. A sensible approach would be to allow sales and impose taxes for the benefit of the government treasury and spend certain amount of the tax money on public awareness programs highlighting the dangers of alcohol consumption
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Oct 27, 2016 12:52pm
@egoist agreed there are unending implications in this move
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Oct 27, 2016 01:12pm
They just provided a windfall gain to suppliers. From today prices will rise and everybody will enjoy the gains .... win win situation for all. Good decision eh ....
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Oct 27, 2016 01:19pm
As per Islamic Sharia and Law liquor sales be banned in all Islamic Pakistan I fully support Sindh High Court every drop of liquor will be weight on day of judgement buyer / sellers and producer and drinker. God Bless Judge of SHC.
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Oct 27, 2016 01:22pm
@Ahsan
Close all liquor shops and provide further access t drugs. It will enable pakistan to move from fourth to top slot in having drug addicts.
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Oct 27, 2016 01:26pm
I being resident of Shaheed Benazirabad (SBA) strongly support the decision of high court because even in our city liquor is being sold on the main roads of the city. it is irony of the fate that only Muslims mostly young are being seen buying the wine.
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Oct 27, 2016 01:40pm
Good job HC, Liquor not only is against our culture and Religion but also is harmful for our health and cause major injuries to people who do not even drink. Every year close to 40000.0 people die in America in road accidents because of Alcohol abuse, many are little children.
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Oct 27, 2016 01:41pm
Good move. I very much welcome it
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Oct 27, 2016 01:48pm
Make it hard to find and difficult to buy and expensive that will limit the alcohol abuse, at the same have social programs and awareness about the adverse affect of alcohol just like smoking, and also control drugs as well have harsh punishment for drug dealers etc.
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Oct 27, 2016 01:48pm
The authorities must act quick to implement the honorable court orders, to prevent huge losses to a famous Brewery located in Rawalpindi and other local liquor manufacturers in Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Any losses to them means cut in government tax collection which could affect the already suffering economy of the country.
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Oct 27, 2016 02:00pm
Really? Was this the most pressing issue for the people of this country? Please don't take out your personal frustrations on ordinary citizens who just want to have a pleasant weekend.
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Oct 27, 2016 02:13pm
How would they stop availability of toxic liquor in the market
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Oct 27, 2016 02:20pm
Instead of cancellation they should legalize Liquor shop so gov can make some profit in terms of tax otherwise it will always be available in black
It was better during zia times
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Oct 27, 2016 02:33pm
@Sami 100% agreed & in the black market there's also toxic liquor available in abundance which claims 100s of human lives each year, further we don't have any traffic related laws against those who consume liquor
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Oct 27, 2016 02:46pm
love u SHC. Well done by all those involved.
BTW I saw one liquor shop in Zamzama open yesterday.
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Oct 27, 2016 02:49pm
Bad decision. Liquor should be allowed because it's 100 times better than heroin which is openly available.
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Oct 27, 2016 02:51pm
There are no liquor shops in Punjab, yet its so easy for me to get alcohol here, since all the bootleggers provide home delivery.
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Oct 27, 2016 02:53pm
@Hashim its illegal in Punjab, but one can still easily get it from anywhere. care to explain why it should be banned? please provide a logical explanation, not a sentimental one
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Oct 27, 2016 02:55pm
@Hashim banning alcohol will push people towards drugs and inferior quality alcohol, which is highly toxic and can result in death.
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Oct 27, 2016 03:20pm
It is all about demand and supply. Millions of Pakistanis, including Muslims, consume alcohol, so the shops crop up.... curb the demand and supply will end itself!
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Oct 27, 2016 03:41pm
What about drugs like Heroine and Ghutkas.Good governance is the call of the day.
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Oct 27, 2016 04:51pm
Alcohol consumed daily above 10 ml is not good for health.
People are miss-leaded to consume more quantity alcohol and it becomes habit.
Alcohol destroys brains decision making capability slowly and victim after some time looses his actions to wrong deeds.
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Oct 27, 2016 05:04pm
Drinkers will still drink. Now they will buy un-taxed smuggled liquor rather than duty-paid liquor legally made in Pakistan.
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Oct 27, 2016 05:42pm
Prices will go up.......
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Oct 27, 2016 05:54pm
Banning is not the solution. Sheesha is banned while prostitution is illegal too but it is an open secret that both these vices or pleasures - a question of perspective- exist and continue to thrive. Alcohol be banned or not is a matter worth debating, what is obvious is the fall out of banning it.
1) Registered liquor shops as we speak are legal businesses in Pakistan. These are people who have invested money and intend to earn a return on it legally, they collect and pay taxes and are not bootleggers. It will be very tyrant-like to cancel licences without just cause.
2) Prohibition will have consequences, bootleggers will mushroom. Illegal imported liquor will become more common and people might resort to other much more dangerous drugs.
3) It is very hypocritical and ignorant of the authorities to attribute alcohol consumption to minorities. Murree Brewery's share went from 90 to almost 1200 in 5 years so clearly it is not just the minorities that the brewery is thriving on.
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Oct 27, 2016 05:55pm
Great step !
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Oct 27, 2016 05:56pm
@Kamal Pasha. So you suggest that we should keep it available at every corner of the street !
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Oct 27, 2016 05:57pm
@THINK SHUTTLE Can we make sure that education , health and basic necessities are available to monotities before liquor is available to them !
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Oct 27, 2016 06:05pm
Banning will reduce the availability which will further reduce the demand which will further reduce the crime and moral degradation ! Right now liquor is available to majority of Muslim youth as shops are present predominantly in Muslim areas .
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Oct 27, 2016 06:10pm
@Bhutrani Banning will reduce the demand among Muslim youth and ultimately will help us in diverting youth towards positive activities !
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Oct 27, 2016 06:23pm
@Ahsan while you are correct in saying that liquor is a great source of sin but please look at the even bigger ills in your country. CORRUPTION...this deprives others of their true rights and TERRORISM...this impacts the lives of people who are victims of terrorism. ALCOHOL has its impact on society but not much as the above items....
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Oct 27, 2016 06:53pm
Guys! SHC has not banned it, it has just revoked the licenses to issue it afresh after observing due legal formalities. The comments suggest that most of the commentators have not read the news in full.
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Oct 27, 2016 07:01pm
let those who want consume alcohol consume it. Yes stores must comply with the rules, b ut isn't that function of the provincial government.
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Oct 27, 2016 07:08pm
Good decision. I support liquor ban. It is against my dharma. I hope it gets ban in Delhi as well.
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Oct 27, 2016 07:12pm
This is the least of our worries. If the shops are open without the necessary formalities and licensing than shut them.
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Oct 27, 2016 07:43pm
Nothing good is coming from that decision I believe. It will be guaranteed then that bootlegging market will flourish. If government can't legalize it, which may have brought in millions of Rupees in tax, the least it can do is to prevent the sale of spurious liquor and unauthorized people from selling the liquor. Valid buyers may be issued electronic-permit credit cards that may be used while getting liquor with purchase limits.
Shutting down and the so called scrutiny will have no desired results in anyway. Even more wine shops will emerge after this new 'Scrutiny'.
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Oct 27, 2016 08:11pm
@Khan Alcohol has no relation with education and basic necessities. And its not mine or your job its government job to provide health and education.
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Oct 28, 2016 05:27am
I will love this decision if implemented
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Oct 28, 2016 10:04am
@Bhutrani Perfect assessment ... i wish authorities were capable of drawing accurate pictures
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Oct 28, 2016 06:01pm
Alcohol in Pakistan is consumed mainly by the elite and they will always be able to aquire it
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Oct 29, 2016 01:52pm
I remember growing up in General Zia days. Alcohol was a taboo word but its was still available , but the good thing about was that the consumption of alcohol was done in very low key, and the people had that fear that if caught they will be punished. Even today nobody in any class of Muslims would like to be called a alcohol drinker in public its a social thing, and I think it is very good. I drink but don't want be branded as a drinker and i think it is a bad habit anyways.
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