KARACHI, Jan 24: The owners of all the licensed liquor shops have been ordered to keep their outlets closed on 8th, 9th and 10th of Muharram to respect the sanctity of the holy month.

Director General of Excise and Taxation Mohammed Asif Marghoob Siddiqui called the liquor shop owners in his office on Wednesday and issued the order to this effect on the directive of Sindh Excise and Taxation Minister Shabbir Ahmed Qaimkhani.

He asked the liquor shopkeepers to strictly comply with the shop timings of 12noon to 10pm on normal days. The liquor shop owners were also warned not to sell liquor to Muslims.

Earlier, the Director General of Excise and Taxation had informed the minister that the department had recovered Rs4,100 million on account of excise duty and various taxes from July to December 2006 which was higher by Rs44 million as against the target of Rs4,066 million.

The minister said that not only the targets given should be met but more improvement be ensured so that the official funds would be spent on uplift projects.