SHC summons priests, pandits on issue of liquor sale in Sindh

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has summoned heads of various churches and Hindu temples pertaining to the sale of liquor in the name of minorities.

These priests and pandits have been summoned for guiding the Sindh government as to who should be licensed for sale of liquor in the province and how much quota should be granted for it.

The court also gave February 14 deadline to the provincial government to legislate on the issue, ordering that rules and regulations for liquor sale in Punjab should also be reviewed.

The SHC further asked the Sindh government to ensure closure of wine shops located near mosques and schools.

Consuming and selling liquor is prohibited in Pakistan; its sale, however, is permitted to people of other religions through licensed liquor stores.

In October last year, the SHC had ordered the provincial government to immediately shutdown and revoke licenses of all liquor shops operating in the process.

SHC Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, who was heading the bench, had remarked that so much liquor was being sold in Karachi that "minority communities can bathe in it".

On November 17, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, however, issued an interim order to reopen wine shops in Sindh, which had been sealed in light of the SHC orders.