KARACHI: Various church and temple leaders were summoned to the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday over the logistics of selling liquor for minorities.
The court required their insight into its deliberation on the matter of who should be licensed to sell liquor in the province and the quota that should be granted for it.
The SHC also set a deadline of February 14 for the Sindh government to confirm legislation on the issues, directing a review of the laws and regulations pertaining to liquor sale in Punjab. It also ordered the administration to ensure the closure of liquor shops located near mosques and schools.
The SHC, last year, had ordered the closure of all liquor selling points in the city as well as the revocation of their licenses.
Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah had remarked on the occasion that the excessive amount of liquor being sold in Karachi meant that “minority communities can bathe in it”.
However, the Supreme Court had subsequently issued an interim order repealing the directions of the SHC and allowing for the shops to be reopened.
While the general consumption and sale of liquor was prohibited in the country, people from other religions are allowed its trade through liquor shops approved and licensed by the government.