Sawt Falasteen - 'Happy milestone': Pakistan's historic brewery cheers export licence

Bottles and cans clatter along the production lines at Murree Brewery, a singular scene in the Muslim-majority country where alcohol is largely banned.

But Murree, founded in 1860 to quench the thirst of British soldiers and the colonial community during the Raj, has survived Islamist opposition and strict regulations to become one of Pakistan's most well-known companies.

"It's a journey of a roller-coaster and resilience," Isphanyar Bhandara, the third generation of his family to run the business, told AFP in an interview.

"Getting permission to export is another happy milestone," he added. "My grandfather, and late father, tried to get the export licence, but couldn't get it. Just because, you know, we are an Islamic country."

However, Bhandara said he got "a rude surprise" in 2017 when the Chinese-run Hui Coastal Brewery and Distillery got permission to brew beer in Pakistan, mainly for the thousands of Chinese working on major infrastructure projects in the country.

"What happened to all the Islamic lectures?" said Bhandara, who hails from Pakistan's small but influential Parsi (Zoroastrian) community and is also a lawmaker in the National Assembly.

Soon he embarked on the years-long lobbying effort to lift the export ban.

- Peculiar profits -

Originally housed in the mountains outside Islamabad, Murree's red-brick facility now sits opposite the army chief's residence in the capital's twin city Rawalpindi, one of the most heavily guarded places in the country.

Revenue surpassed $100 million in the fiscal year to June, with alcohol sales generating just over half of the total, and non-alcoholic drinks and bottle making accounting for the rest.

The performance is all the more remarkable given that alcohol sales to Muslims are forbidden, meaning only religious minorities -- numbering around nine million -- and foreigners can buy beer or liquor in a few authorised shops or upscale hotels.

But that has not stopped millions of Pakistanis from getting their occasional tipple, in a country with a long history of appreciating a fine drink.

Its revered founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah was known to enjoy spirits, and the military dictator Pervez Musharraf made no secret of his love of whisky.

Even prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who announced the alcohol ban in 1977 in a bid to garner support from right-wing Islamist parties, once told a rally: "Yes, I drink alcohol, but at least I don't drink the blood of the poor."

These days it's common for bottles to appear at dinners or parties -- there is usually a Christian or Hindu to be found who will buy them for you.

"Pakistan's affair with alcohol is like that of a secret paramour -- acknowledged but not talked about extensively," said Fasi Zaka, a prominent columnist and political commentator.

"It's the tolerable vice -- condemned but familiar."

However, many Muslim drinkers obtain alcohol from bootleggers or locally produced moonshine, and every year several people die after consuming methanol-contaminated liquor.

"I have to bribe the police and take extra risks, so the price is doubled", a Christian bootlegger in Islamabad told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"The extra charge is to keep everyone happy, whether it's a Muslim customer or a police officer keeping an eye on me," he said with a laugh.

- Expanding horizons -

Before the export ban, Murree had sold its products in neighbouring India and Afghanistan, but also in Gulf countries and as far as the United States.

"It sounds very strange or very bizarre today, but we were exporting to Kabul," where the Taliban now govern with their strict interpretation of Islam, Bhandara said.

Murree has already made limited shipments to Japan, Britain and Portugal as it explores distribution channels and strategies.

"Right now, the target is not revenue or to make money... the target is to explore new markets", Bhandara said.

The company, which has around 2,200 employees, is looking in particular at Europe, but is also weighing a move into Asian and African markets.

Selling abroad could also give Murree a chance to promote its history and brand in ways unimaginable at home.

"We are not allowed to advertise, so we keep our heads down -- we try to make a good beer with our heads down," Bhandara said.

L.Hussein--SF-PST