THERE has to be always something brewing that casts Sindh as a seeker of what it sees as its due from Punjab. And as it quite often finds itself placed on a high ground it’s not rare for Punjab to be accused of checking flows to Sindh every now and then. Sindh has come up with a complaint, not a whining demand but a rather polite request by the look of it, to Punjab that is pegged on the supply of liquor to the province. A report in this paper says the supply to Sindh has been cut by 70 per cent after the Murree Brewery reduced production in the face of a levy imposed by Punjab on an ingredient used in the making of liquor. This has cost Sindh some Rs260m in revenue, and more significantly, has apparently forced a greater number of drinkers to opt for the deadly substitutes sold on the black market. Sindh officials link many deaths by drinking in recent days to the non-availability of better-quality and safer alternatives produced by Murree and have asked for an early settlement of the issue over the imposition of tax.

The issue of new taxes on raw material has remained largely hidden from view. But the word is going around that the consumption of spurious, extremely hazardous drinks has increased in Lahore as well because of the fall in supply from the Murree Brewery. Also there is no shortage of evidence from Punjab itself about the dangers harboured in a bottle of low-quality liquor. By law, religious minorities and foreign nationals are allowed to obtain alcohol from designated outlets. The Punjab government cannot be expected to be so far removed from this reality and the difficulties its move would present. It must realise that Sindh has a case here.