Recent Growth
In 1977 the Murree Brewery suffered a significant setback when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto imposed a total prohibition in Pakistan, to appease Islamic elements of the electorate. Subsequently the government of General Zia-ul-Haq amended this law, requiring anyone wishing to consume alcohol to present credentials demonstrating that they were non-Muslim. The small Christian, Hindu and Parsi communities were not large enough to support the enterprise, and production had to be scaled back.
However, gradual relaxation of the prohibition laws has allowed Murree to introduce variations of Murree beer, vodka, gin and whisky. Today, all Murree products are readily available in legal liquor shops that operate openly in Karachi in places like Zamzama and Defence. It is also available in the interior of Sindh. Although the consumption of alcohol in public is still nominally banned, it is becoming increasingly available in clubs and high-class restaurants. Murree Beer was initially being produced in Austria for European markets and was available in various Pakistani and Indian restaurants, an enterprise which has since ceased since 2004. The current CEO, Isphanyar Bhandara has announced plans to pursue co-brewing with Fosters, but this is still in development.
The Murree Brewery is one of the oldest public companies of the sub-continent. Its shares were traded on the Calcutta Stock Exchange as early as 1902, and is now the oldest continuing industrial enterprise of Pakistan and among the top 25 performing public companies by the Karachi Stock Exchange.
Murree's biggest competitor is the Quetta Distillery, and its products have to increasingly vie with smuggled brands from the West and India.
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