Alcohol in Pakistan

People have consumed alcohol for possibly 9,000 years.

Alcohol is the product of natural fermentation of sugar by yeast. Yeast is a single-celled organism, classified as a fungus, that consumes sugar and belches out carbon dioxide (CO2 which causes breads to rise) and alcohol (which is more formally known as ethanol, ethyl alcohol, or C2H5OH).



The alcohol builds up in a solution until the level is too high and kills the yeast cells. There are millions of yeast types but the ones that are commercially used produce levels of 5% (beer)-12%(wine) alcohol before dying off.

Alcohol is technically a drug due to its effect upon the central nervous system, but people hardly recognize it as one. The physiological and psychological effect of "drunkeness" is one which is often looked forward to enjoy. The more negative effects are discussed here. In Islam, it seems, to me, that it is this subsequent drunkeness or intoxication that has led to the ban of alcohol by a number of Islamic governments - though the matter is very muddy these days in the actual practice of Muslims.

Islam is dictated from the Qur'an (Koran) and the practices of Mohammad that have been directly handed down from generation to generation by all, except by the Wahhabi denomination. I can hardly speak on the practices of Mohommad being myself uneducated in this manner but can refer only to Qur'an translations by others:

1. "Approach not prayers with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say, ..." (4:43)
2. "They ask thee concerning wine and gambling, say: 'In them is great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit...'"(2:219) [reference]
   
   
3. "And from the fruits of date palms and grapes you produce intoxicants..." (16:67)
4. "O you who believe, intoxicants, and gambling, and the altars of idols, and the games of chance are abominations of the devil; you shall avoid them, that you may succeed" (5:90) [analysis]

Translation is an inherent problem to understanding this issue in Islam. I do not propose to understand but rather provide information for thought.

Alcohol is much more available in Pakistan than I ever thought, especially in metropolitan areas. Embassies and companies import their own alcohol stocks. Major hotels and embassies sell alcohol, shady bars serve alcohol, and the government even allows a couple of companies to produce it.

Pakistan was apparently open to alcohol for thirty years after independence from the British until former President Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization of Pakistan that, in part, restricted wine to non-Muslims with permits in 1977. So, it appears difficult to find alcohol on the surface.

Many wealthy, metropolitan Pakistanis have access to alcohol. They find it from the above sources and mostly consume it in basement parties, where it is more likely to go unnoticed. My neighbor showed me his basement which includes a wide floor plan with a bar by the wall and a disco ball and full sound system on the ceiling. The culture of private parties with alcohol is alive in Islamabad - though you must know someone to enter these social circles.

There are alternative avenues to alcohol for those with fewer wealthy social connections. A friend told me of how they dropped yeast in a box of grape juice to start their own fermentation process. Indeed, home-brewing is a relatively easy avenue to obtaining alcohol.

NB: I would warn anyone against the distallation process of their home brew. Such a process concentrates the alcohol but also concentrates other harmful by-products, like methanol. The body breaks down molecules of alcohol (ethanol) and methanol which produces more harmful by-products that are the real cause of hangovers and other physiological problems. In the latter case of methanol, the break down of this molecule can cause blindness with as little as 5 grams and death in higher doses - so concentrating alcohol is a bad thing unless you know how to remove the methanol [which really only takes a thermometer and a knowledge of boiling points, but I still don't recommend it].

Having fewer connections and a general aversion to fermentation myself, I reach out to other sources. The easiest sources for me are usually a friend that stockpiles alcohol from others, a friend who actually has privileges to buy alcohol from the U.S. embassy store, buying a bottle or glass at embassy clubs, or getting a government permit and some Murree beer.


Alcohol is not my usual fare for my own reasons. However, it's a comfort for many locals and expatriates to find it available in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Links:
A Morning Beer in Pakistan
Illegal Alcohol Continues to Cause Deaths
Alcohol in Pakistan: The Politics of Boozing
Official government website: The use of ethanol as a motor fuel