The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday directed the excise and taxation department to inform the court about the circumstances and rules and regulations to run wine shops.While hearing the pleas filed against the open selling of liquor in Karachi’s Ibrahim Haidery area, the SHC bench, headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, also directed the SHO of the area to appear and inform the court about the facts.Earlier, the citizens moved the SHC against the opening of wine shops and its open sale and maintained that license to run these shops were issued only for those areas where non-Muslims are in majority but now the wine shops have also been established in Muslim vicinities which is violation of the rules.The petitioner, Mst Bushra, informed the court that a wine shop was established in Ibrahim Haidery just at the distance of few hundred feet from local Jamia Masjid.The police in its reply told the SHC that there was no mosque within the radius of 100 yards. However, the court directed the concerned SHO to inform the court about real facts on the next hearing.The court in its order directed the excise and taxation director general or at least a 19-grade officer of the department to frame rules and regulations for running the wine shops.
