Meet Parsi family which dominates Pakistan’s highly-regulated liquor business, owns Asia’s oldest distillers, its name is…, net worth is….

Murree Brewery: The liquor business is one of the most lucrative businesses in any part of the world, which flourishes, albeit under strict regulations, even in Muslim nations where alcohol is officially prohibited under state law. One such example is Pakistan, a country which has a 96% Muslim population, and alcohol consumption is a punishable offence under the law.

Under Pakistani law, Muslim are forbidden to consume alcohol, but it is still available for sale and consumption to non-Muslims and foreigners, who need a special permission for the privilege. But did you know who dominates highly-regulated Pakistan’s liquor business?

Its the Bhandara family, a Parsi family who acquired the Murree Brewery– one of the oldest breweries in Asia– from the British in 1947 when India and Pakistan were freed from colonial yoke. Isphanyar Bhandara, a business tycoon and politician, now runs Murree Brewery, Pakistan’s largest liquor manufacturing company.

Under Isphanyar, Murree Brewery has thrived despite strict regulations for alcohol production and consumption prevalent in Pakistan. Bhandara says his company focusses on quality and uses only the best raw materials to make alcohol, apart from also making non-alcoholic beverages such as fruit juices, which are exported across the world.

Murree Brewery is especially famous for its beer which is brewed using barley imported from Australia, apart from its single-malt Whiskey and vodka, which are also quite popular. “It is all about quality. We make sure too use only the best (raw materials),” says Bhandara.

The company also makes packaged drinking water.

Murree Beer was famous in India

Notably, once upon a time Murree Beer was sold in India, especially in Indian restaurants, but this enterprise came to a halt in 2004, However, in 2013, a Bengaluru-based entrepreneur opened a Murree Brewery franchise, for brewing, bottling and marketing of the beer in India.

The success of Murree Brewery under Isphanyar Bhandara is commendable due to the fact that Pakistan liquor business is strictly regulated and consumption of alcohol is a punishable crime for Muslim citizens. As such, the company has put up a disclaimer on its website, stating that under the country’s law, Muslims of Pakistan are prohibited from drinking alcohol, while non-Muslims and foreigners require permission.

Who is Isphanyar Bhandara?

Isphanyar Bhandara is a businessman and a politician and apart from running a very successful liquor business, he is also a member of the Pakistan National Assembly, while his father served as a Central minister under the Zia-ul-Haq regime in the 1980s and was an MP when Pakistan was ruled by Pervez Musharraf.

The Bhandara family is one of the most affluent in Pakistan, but Parsis, who played a major role in nation-building, especially in cities like Karachu, have waned over time. According to Ishphanyar, around 20,000-25,000 Parsis lived in Pakistan when the country was carved out of erstwhile British India in 1947, but the numbed has gradually declined over the decades, and currently there are less than 1,000 of them residing in the country.

According to Ishphanyar, most of Pakistan’s Parsi population are in the elderly age groups because a majority of Parsi families have migrated to other countries due to various reasons, including economic, socio-political and law and order.

Ishphanyar aunt, Bapsi Sidhwa, famous novelist, Bapsi Sidhwa, is one such example who migrated from Pakistan to the United States, where she passed away on December 25 last year. Bapsi’s acclaimed novel Ice Candy Man was made into a feature film called ‘Earth’ by Indian director Deepa Mehta in 1998.

‘India, Pakistan must work for common good, open borders for trade’

Like many Pakistani companies, Isphanyar Bhandara imports raw materials and machinery from India for his liquor business, but the imports happen via Dubai, which makes them more expensive. Bhandara has been lobbying to open the Wagah border in Punjab for trade, urging both countries to put their issues aside and work for the good of their citizens.

“We can disagree on Kashmir and other issues, and neither India nor Pakistan has to give up their position on these matters. But the respective governments should work for the welfare of common people,” he says, adding that more business will benefit the underprivileged, especially in Pakistan.