Pakistan to sell beer to india

[Maulik]

Pakistan overturns ban on booze . . . for export

From: NewsCore
October 20, 2011 10:58AM

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 holy law - but 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 would 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 today 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 favor 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.

Under Pakistani law, drinking alcohol is illegal for Muslims - who make up 97 per cent of the country's 173 million people - although no one has been lashed for drinking since the 1980s.

Pakistan overturns ban on booze . . . for export | News.com.au

[Maulik]

trade is the key to success for peace..India and Pak. should increase their trade volume at least 10 folds to the current trade volume..

[Karachi]

Pakistan overturns ban on booze . . . for export

From: NewsCore
October 20, 2011 10:58AM

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 holy law - but 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 would 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 today 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 favor 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.

Under Pakistani law, drinking alcohol is illegal for Muslims - who make up 97 per cent of the country's 173 million people - although no one has been lashed for drinking since the 1980s.

Pakistan overturns ban on booze . . . for export | News.com.au

Pakistan should really change its name, nothing is Islamic about the country

[Karachi]

trade is the key to success for peace..India and Pak. should increase their trade volume at least 10 folds to the current trade volume..

Yes true, i am all for better trade ties

[Talal]

Mirza Ghalib would be proud lol anyways this is gonna cook up another sh!tstorm with da mullahs

[Soldat_Amir]

Pakistan has spent decades trying its level best to some how Islamise Afghanistan with a Pro Islamist leadership thats loyal to its devilish interests.

Once again, we see the other side of Pakistan, that once again exposes the fact that Pakistan is a blatant hypocrite.

[Talal]

^ Hey man if someone wants to booze up i say let em its a free world .. will you smack your colleague if he offers you a drink ? no you will politely decline .. will you tell him to stop ? no you will instead say " yeah have fun man, hope you have a good evening "

so why is it so bad that some guy ( a parsi by the way not even a muslim ) who owns a brewery wants to sell it to other people..he isn't forcing anyone to come and drink and the state would be wrong to rob him off that right

rest of it is between him and Allah SWT, the state is there to protect rights of all its people not just muslims

[IamDZJ]

Why should it bother pakistanies? Pakistan is not a 100% muslim population. These hindus and christians are also pakistanies who have the right to reach out for better business opportunities that meet their standards of a decent way of living.
The*problem with today's Muslim is that we expect everyone to reach our standards of perfection and righteousness with out bothering to explain those to anyone we approach. We know what we want but we don't have a single clue of as to how to get there. We must realize that one can't change the means by which a person chooses to live by or their lifestyle unless you convince them to change their beliefs and that cant be done unless its*according to their free will.
If your defination of what a pakistani is supposed to be is limited to one who is a Muslim by religion only then you have no right to be offended by what a non Muslim does because living in Pakistan obviously isn't enough of a reason for you to make one a Pakistani and if he is not a Pakistani and he makes beer in his own property and sales it to non Muslims then I don't see *how that becomes anyone else's business.*

[Karachi]

^ Hey man if someone wants to booze up i say let em its a free world .. will you smack your colleague if he offers you a drink ? no you will politely decline .. will you tell him to stop ? no you will instead say " yeah have fun man, hope you have a good evening "

so why is it so bad that some guy ( a parsi by the way not even a muslim ) who owns a brewery wants to sell it to other people..he isn't forcing anyone to come and drink and the state would be wrong to rob him off that right

rest of it is between him and Allah SWT, the state is there to protect rights of all its people not just muslims

thats not what he is talking about, he's saying the same army generals who support taliban in afghanistan in the name of islam, secertly indulge in these sinful activities. He is actually right, they are hypocrites. I have been to houses of some army familes in Lahore and they are totally unislamic. Infact army compounds are known for these sort of activities whether in Islamabad, Lahore or Karachi. They are big time hypocrites, thats why i will never ever support them personally, they have blood of so many innocent people on their hands because of what they do. Again i dont consider pakistan an islamic country, the name "Islamic republic" should be taken out