At least 48 people died died and dozens more were left fighting for their lives in a small city called Toba Tek near Faisalabad after drinking
toxic methyl-alcohol on Christmas day.
98 people in total fell ill from the alcohol during Christmas celebrations at mubbarakabad, shorkot road, in Punjab Province, and dozens were taken to
a nearby hospital. Almost 50 people were later brought to a hospital in Faisalabad, the closest major city, for treatment.
By 5th January 2017, the death toll had reached 48, The provincial government ordered an inquiry into the episode which was to be conducted by the local
police constabulary in Toba Tek. 36 of the deceased victims were Christians and the remaining 12 were Muslims who had joined the Christians in their revelry.
After its independence in 1947, Pakistani law was fairly liberal regarding liquor laws. Major cities had a culture of drinking, and alcohol was readily
available until 1977 when the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto government introduced prohibition for Muslim citizens. Since then, Pakistan’s majority Muslim population
has been unable to legally buy alcohol, and advertising for alcoholic beverages has been outlawed.
Now, consumption alcohol by Muslims is considered a crime in Pakistan. Under the Pakistan penal code’s Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order of 1979,
anyone who is convicted of alcohol consumption gets awarded 80 lashes. The Supreme Court of Pakistan took up the responsibility for declaring this physical
punishment.
Muslims make up roughly 97% of Pakistan’s population, so it’s only the 3% minority (mostly made up of Christians) who are eligible to buy alcohol with
a permit. A Pakistani alcohol permit limits the buyer to 100 bottles of beer or 5 bottles of liquor per month, although these limits are not strictly enforced.
Non-Muslim foreigners are allowed to order alcohol in restaurants and hotels that have liquor licenses, and foreigners can also apply for alcohol permits.
Many elite Muslim’s can be found drinking at these venues and statutory authorities turn a blind eye. There is also an underground rave scene
where young rich Muslims can be found dancing and consuming alcohol and drugs (click here).
The nation even has its own brewery, built in 1860 to quench the thirst of the British Raj. Named the Murree Brewery Company, it is one of Pakistan’s most
established and highest tax-paying industries, and its ‘Murree’ branded beer was a global runner in its heyday. Murree Brewery is owned by a Parsi family
(ancient Persian refugees with Zoroastrian faith) and their company motto is ‘Eat, Drink and be Muree’.
Alcohol is very expensive in Pakistan and only the wealthy classes can afford to buy beverages -a permit cost 20 dollars in itself a prohibitive cost.
Although the Murree brand of liquor products costs less then foreign imports which can only be bought through bootleggers who often smuggle beers form
China and liquor form Europe, the cost is still way above what the average Pakistani could afford.
Technically anyone desiring to drink legally needs a permit, which can be applied for at the office of Excise and Taxation in sector F8 Islamabad, but
often foreigners can get away with buying without a permit. For those with an alcohol permit, beverages can be bought at around 60 ‘permit rooms’
around the country who only sell Murree brewery products.
Most residents of the Mubarakabad neighborhood of Toba Tek Singh, where the alcohol was consumed, are Christians, a minority in Pakistan. Members of the
local Christian community mostly do menial jobs and are unable to afford licensed alcohol.
On Sunday evening, as Christmas celebrations were underway, alcohol was served, and many people became sick.
Local villagers have alleged that the alcohol was bought from officers based at Sadar Police Station by Sawan Masih a Christian and three of his Muslim
friends who were all partners in an illegal ‘moonshine’ business. It is believed that the police had confiscated the ‘home made brew’ from
another gang of contraband sellers, from a neighbouring town.
Despite the many reports of police re-selling captured contraband resulting in these deaths, to date no investigation has been initiated into the alleged
corruption, much to the chagrin of local Christian leaders.
Faisalabad based BPCA officer Kanwal Amar, visited survivors in hospitals, their families and attended many funerals, he said:
“This for me has been a very emotionally draining visit to a beleaguered community. Such a grand-scale of death is rarely seen and one of the most important festivals in the Christian calendar has been tarnished for these mourning villagers.
“Many families have lost their main bread-winners and for the already impoverished families this has been a devastating blow, economically, emotionally and spiritually. Young wives have been widowed with small children to bring up, elderly parents have lost the children that supported them through their more difficult years and sisters mourn their brothers.
“Some younger men had drunk for the first time and now are no more. For those that have survived doctors have warned them to expect blindness and loss of mobility for the rest of their lives. A painful prognosis that has sapped what little joy families had for the extended life of the survivors.
“These people need our help and prayers.”
British Pakistani Christian Association have initiated a fund to help the widowers and wives who were financially dependent on men who have been lost in this tragedy. We will also help all the families with payments to help with the costs of funerals they have had to pay for. There is no government compensation being offered to anyone who has suffered as a consequence of these avoidable deaths.
If you would like to contribute please (click here)
Four men have been arrested for the alcohol sales of which two men are Muslims. However local people are alleging that High level police officials are
refusing to investigate the sale of the alcohol by corrupt police officials.
Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, said:
“Losing so many men in one terrible drinking accident has caused distraught and dismay to so many people, however, this tragedy could have been prevented. Alleged police failings and an ongoing inability to control alcohol consumption amongst Muslims has created huge demand for alcohol and expensive prices.
“The number of Muslims consuming alcohol in Pakistan is believed to outnumber the number of minority drinkers, this despite any consumption of alcohol by Muslims being outlawed.
“These Muslim drinkers are from wealthy families who can pay bribes to Police and purchase their higher priced foreign liquor from bootleggers, or within the many hotels who choose to turn a blind eye.
“This forces deprived Christians and Hindu’s to place their lives i great danger by buying home made brew from moonshiners. In such a culture it is not uncommon for less scrupulous criminal fraternities to sell poorly brewed toxic brews, with chemical additives, simply to make a quick buck.
“hundreds of people are killed to these toxic beverages every year. Drinks called “desi daru”
are sold in plastic bags by men travelling to impoverished minority communities and preying on the depressed poor and illiterate communities.
“The Pakistani Governments failure to enforce their alcohol ban is an international joke and lessons have not been learned from the failed american prohibition that only served to increase organised crime. Unless the law is reformed or taxation reduced to ensure the deprived minorities have access to safer alcohol many more deaths will ensue.”
Stephen John (57 years) lost his two sons Asim (22 years) and Usman (23 years).
Saleem Masih (45 years) lost his younger brother Yaqoob Masih (36 years)
Inayat Masih (48 years) lost his son Usman Samuels (19 years)
Gabriel Masih (55 years) lost her son Samuel Masih (32 years)
Inayat Masih (70 years) lost his son Samuel (40 years)
Kausar Bibi lost her husband Qaiser Masih (48 years)
Meeda Bibi lost her husdband Aziz Masih (55 years) and her two sons Daniel Aziz (30 years) and Shebaz Aziz (35 years)
Mehka Bibi lost her husband Shehbaz Masih (32 years).
Sajid Masih (35 years)
Shahid Masih (30 years)
Shebaz Masih (40 years)
Samuela Masih (24 years) his brother Babar (20 years) survived.
Yousaf Masih (42 years)
Susan Bibi lost three sons Amjad (36 years), Shakeel (33 years) Sajawal (30 years)
Akther Bibi lost her only son Rasheed Masih (22 years) brother to four sisters.
Ameen Masih (54 years) was fortunate his two sons survived after hospital treatment Kamran (24 years) and Sikander (20 years).
All who survived will require ongoing medical treatment for the forseeable future.
