Asia: Beer Over Belief As Alcohol Ban Is Overturned In A Nation Of 97% Muslims

The owners of Murree Brewery in Rawalpindi say that demand is growing

It is an Islamic Republic where alcohol is forbidden to 97 per cent of the population and drinkers can face 80 lashes of the whip under religious law.

However, in a move set to anger religious conservatives, Pakistan is poised to become an exporter of beer.

An official in the Ministry of Commerce in Islamabad told The Times that a ruling this month by its Economic Committee on Trade will allow Pakistan to export beer and spirits from next year.


“India would be the largest market for our alcoholic products. It would be exported through non-Muslim enterprises to non-Muslim countries,” the official said.

The change in law, which requires final approval by the Prime Minister, was welcomed yesterday by Sabih-ur-Rehman, a retired army major who runs Murree, the Pakistan brewery, in Rawalpindi. It is licensed to produce beer and spirits for consumption by foreigners and Pakistani minorities, including Christians and Hindus.

“The sky is the limit. If we get the permission we plan to distribute everywhere,” he said.

Alcohol exports were banned by Pakistan in 1977 by the then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the father of Benazir Bhutto, in a move to favour Islamist groups. “Pakistan is known for a lot of bad things but it is time for us to be known for some good things too, like our beer,” Isphanyar Bhandara, whose family owns the brewery, said.

The brewery was founded in 1860 to supply beer to the British Army, and his Zoroastrian family has owned it for more than 60 years. Under Pakistani law, drinking alcohol is illegal for Muslims, who make up 97 per cent of the country’s 173 million people.

Despite the lurch towards fundamentalist strands of Islam in recent years, Pakistanis are consuming more and more alcohol.

“Demand is definitely increasing,” said Major Sabih-ur-Rehman, who added that Murree has trebled its beer production since 1995, all of which is consumed domestically.

An estimated 10 million Pakistanis drink regularly and they include many political and military leaders such as the former President Musharraf, who discreetly quaffed whisky and wine at private homes, weddings and parties.

Mr Bhandara said: “Running a brewery here requires a lot of courage and a big heart. We are living in perilous times.” The brewery is next to the headquarters of the armed forces, which has helped to guarantee its security.

“The best bars in the world are in the houses of Islamabad,” said Major Rehman, who claimed that his office at the brewery was the only place in Pakistan to serve draught lager.

For Muslims, such drinking is technically illegal although in practice, no one has been lashed for drinking since the 1980s, under the regime of General Zia.

“It’s like ordering a pizza,” an Islamabad resident said. “You pick up the phone and in 15 minutes the bootlegger is at your front door.”

Source/Credit: The Times, UK. By Robin Pagnamenta. October 20, 2011