By IANS
Karachi : At least 35 people have died after consuming toxic illicit liquor in this southern Pakistani port city. Family members of those who died are reportedly receiving threats from liquor manufacturers not to disclose the identity of the shops.
Mass deaths due to hooch consumption among Karachi’s poor is common, but especially so during the holy month of Ramadan. The wine shops are closed during Ramadan, forcing alcoholics or non-Muslims to buy substandard drinks from bootleggers who take advantage of the dry spell.
“On Friday morning a complete stranger came to my house and threatened me with dire consequences if I disclosed his name or address, even though I didn’t know him at all,” the younger brother of one of the victims told Daily Times from his house in Camp City Railway Colony.
The Daily Times reported that the victims of Thursday’s tragedy were residents of the Railway Colony here. The settlement has mostly poor Christians with a smattering of Hindus.
The shops put up signs ‘Only for non-Muslims’ above their shops. But one Hindu victim’s son explained that although alcohol is prohibited in Islam, “Wine shop owners mostly sell to Muslims and write Hindu names on the receipts to justify their sales.”