Kashmiri activist in Iran condemns the sale of alcohol in Kashmir

Sayyed Karar Hashmi called for an immediate ban on the sales of alcohol in Indian-occupied ‎Jammu and Kashmir.‎

News ID: 450294

Date: 22 June 2020 - 12:49

RNA – In an exclusive interview with Rasa News Agency, Sayyed Karar Hashmi, a Kashmiri ‎seminarian in Qom, called for an immediate ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages in Indian-‎occupied Jammu and Kashmir, arguing that it will ruin the social fabric of the Muslim-majority ‎state known as “the land of Rishis and Sufis.”‎

He said, “The government must not always see everything through the prism of revenue but ‎must also make decisions that would safeguard our future generations. In a democracy, the ‎people should decide for themselves, not the government. Choices are not enforced in a ‎free society. Statistics show that ten thousand people are killed by alcohol a year and only ‎one person is killed by a mad dog, yet we shoot the dog and license the sale of alcoholic ‎beverages. What sense is there in this?”‎

In a message, Sayyed Hashmi said that the consumption of alcoholic beverages is ‎condemned by all rational religions of the world and yet some people have been able to ‎bribe the religious and political authorities to manipulate the relevant commands of the ‎scriptures to their own views. ‎

He added that alcohol and other intoxicants are forbidden in the Quran, as they are a bad ‎habit that drives people away from the remembrance of God Almighty. It isn’t only a great ‎waste of money but also causes ulcers, stomach cancer, neurological and digestive disorders ‎and liver ailments. ‎

He explained that the Prophet Muhammad also warned his followers that participating in the ‎alcohol trade is forbidden, cursing it from ten angles, “The wine itself, the one who squeezes ‎‎(the grapes etc.), the one for whom it is squeezed, the one who sells it, the one who buys ‎it, the one who carries it, the one to whom it is carried, the one who consumes its price, the ‎one who drinks it and the one who pours it.”‎

Sayyed Hashmi further said that the trend toward the prohibition of alcohol in India has been ‎praised by many women’s rights groups, who say alcohol abuse contributes to domestic ‎violence and plunges poor families deeper into poverty. Laws are made to protect the ‎aspirations of the people and the implementation of the same laws must unite the people ‎and not further isolate them from the system as a whole.‎

He requested that the government of India and other top authorities implement a ban on ‎alcohol consumption and rising drug addiction in Jammu and Kashmir to prevent further ‎miseries in the lives of its own people.‎

Rasa News Agency

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