Pakistan has been dry for much longer- since 1977- and drinkers risk severe punishment: 80 lashes of the whip under strict Islamic laws, the Guardian reports.But the law is ignored, as alcohol is widely available in the country, and for those who go too far, addiction clinics offering help are quietly flourishing.
The last time a Pakistani drinker received 80 lashes was under the Islamist dictator Zia ul-Haq in the 1980s, however the culture has changed these days. Former president Pervez Musharraf made little secret of his fondness for a drink; neither does his successor, Asif Ali Zardari, the report said.
Waiters serve scotch on the sidelines of society weddings and corporate functions, and ministers drink openly at functions but hide their glasses when photographers come around, it added.
According to the report, demand for alcoholism counselling is so brisk in Pakistan that many clinics now take out prominent newspaper ads, some depicting a depressed man nursing a glass of scotch- a rare public nod towards a thinly veiled drinking culture.
"There's plenty of business," said Dr Sadaqat Ali, a leading addiction counsellor whose chain of clinics treated 500 alcoholics this year.
He counted bureaucrats, politicians, army generals and even the families of mullahs among his clients. "That's our target market. We call it the golden triangle: rich, educated and influential," he said.
It is scary to be whipped just by being caught drinking alcohol because it is prohibited in their religion. However, nowadays it is allowed to drink just enough to fill the craving. There are also numbers of alcohol rehabilitation centres around the country that could helped those who have been addicted to it.
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