Despite the fact that alcohol has been banned in Pakistan since 1977, addiction counselors in that country say alcohol is easily purchased nationwide for the estimated 10 million Pakistanis who regularly drink the banned substance. The number of problem drinkers within the country has swelled to around one million and the trend has also prompted the start-up of a growing number of addiction clinics trying to treat an ever-increasing number of mostly middle-class patients.
Alcohol drinkers in Pakistan risk the severe punishment of 80 lashes of the whip according to strict Islamic law, but today the law is mostly ignored and alcohol is surprisingly widely available. The last time the punishment of 80 lashes was meted out was back in the mid-80’s under a different regime and since that time neither former president Pervez Musharraf, nor his current successor, Asif Ali Zardari, have tried to hide the fact that both are fond of drinking alcohol.
As alcohol use increases, new addiction clinics are flourishing on the sidelines and most are quietly promoting their services. However, business has gotten more competitive lately and now some clinics are beginning to take out Western-style newspaper advertisements so brazen that they even include images of unhappy Pakistani men nursing a glass of scotch or whiskey as they mull their treatment options.
Wealthier Pakistanis drink openly at weddings and corporate functions, but are careful not to be photographed doing so. One alcohol counselor went so far as to say that the rich, educated and influential citizens were his main target market with many bureaucrats, politicians, army generals and even the families of mullahs among those quietly seeking his services. The Pakistani under-class drinks mostly local moonshine and enterprising bootleggers provide quick and inexpensive home delivery service. The low-grade booze carries its own increased risks though, as every year a few dozen Pakistanis die or go blind from drinking a bad batch of homebrew. A complete reversal of the alcohol law is highly unlikely in the mostly Muslim nation today. The recent rise of the Taliban along with a few suicide bombs set off near tourist-oriented bars in 2007 put an abrupt halt to any further talk of changing the law.
As one might imagine, a Pakistani alcohol treatment center is fairly Spartan and primitive compared to the luxury, residence-style centers common in the U.S. Treatment at a Pakistani clinic is not cheap though and can cost up to $150 a night. Patients may endure creative treatments including intense sessions with relatives for long hours in cramped rooms, or even interventions against their will that include forced drugging. The Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) organization has also been operating quietly in Pakistan for over a decade now, but a distinct lack of anonymity in Pakistan society has made AA far less attractive than the new breed of more discreet alcohol treatment centers springing up.
