Bill Seeks Complete Ban on Alcohol Across Pakistan

A lawmaker from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) has submitted a constitutional amendment bill to the National Assembly Secretariat seeking a nationwide ban on alcohol by removing the existing religious exemption for non-Muslims.

Member of the National Assembly Naeema Kishwar Khan has proposed an amendment to Article 37 of the Constitution. The current provision allows an exception related to alcohol consumption “in the case of non-Muslims, religious purposes.”

The proposed legislation, titled “The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2026,” seeks to omit the words “and, in the case of non-Muslims, religious purposes” from paragraph (h) of Article 37. The bill states that in paragraph (h) of the said Article, the specified words “shall be omitted.”

If Parliament passes the amendment, it would remove the constitutional basis for granting alcohol permits or exemptions to non-Muslims, resulting in a complete prohibition without religious distinction.

In its Statement of Objects and Reasons, the bill argues that alcohol is prohibited in all religions and states that linking its consumption with religious minorities is unjust.

The document also refers to Article 227 of the Constitution, which requires existing laws to conform to the Injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah. The bill states that it will come into force immediately upon enactment.