Liquor ban bill set to generate political heat in J&K assembly

The Jammu and Kashmir Prohibition of Alcohol Bill, 2025, seeking to ban the sale of liquor sale in the Union Territory is expected to generate heat in the budget session of the assembly that got off to a smooth start on Monday.

Cutting across party lines, three legislators, Fayaz Mir of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Ahsan Pardesi of the National Conference and Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) representative Sheikh Khursheed Ahmad, moved the private members’ bills separately in the run-up to the session. The PDP turned the demand into a public issue by launching a signature campaign, spearheaded by party leader Iltija Mufti. Former CM Mehbooba Mufti has written to the Congress and even requested legislators of opposition parties to support the bill as “this is related to J&K’s culture and has nothing to do with politics”.

In a rare show of unity, the opposition BJP also wants Muslim-majority J&K to be a dry state. However, the ruling NC is in a fix. While some of its legislators support the demand, a section of party leaders say it is an unviable demand for the UT government with limited revenue resources. They argue the UT, which banks on tourism, will lose nearly ₹2,500 crore in revenue. With law and order improving, the tourism sector has seen a steady growth over the past four years.

Not part of NC manifesto: Omar

When asked about his stand on the demand during a TV interview, chief minister Omar Abdullah hinted on the government’s stance by saying: “Let them bring this bill. It (alcohol ban) was never a part of our (NC’s) manifesto.”

However, Srinagar NC MP Aga Ruhullah has openly supported ban on alcohol. He questioned police action when they removed banners put up by traders requesting tourists to stay away from alcohol last week. “Even appealing to tourists to respect local sensitivities is now illegal in Kashmir. Will @JmuKmrPolice clarify which law was violated by the signboard? Or is the only law in place the one that silences Kashmiris? The colonial LG administration in cahoots with the security forces, has turned Kashmir into an Orwellian nightmare—where people can’t protest, safeguard their identity, or even speak for their culture. Suppression breeds resentment. The more you push Kashmiris to the wall, the stronger their will to break it down. Kashmiris like any other society in this country have right to preserve and protect their culture and faith. J&K Police is advised to not work like a colonial power but work and behave as local police guided by law and respectful to the community and its sensitivities,” the MP posted on X.

Finding middle ground

Sonawari NC legislator Hilal Lone has also backed the bill. “Whosoever brings the bill on alcohol, I will support it in the assembly,” he told reporters. NC MLA and chief spokesman Tanvir Sadiq sparked off a controversy when he said that stakeholders associated with the hotel and tourism industry should be taken into confidence before any such ban is sought. He added that there was no such ban on the sale of alcohol even in Muslim-majority countries. However, he later retracted his statement after public backlash on social media, saying that he too wants alcohol ban.

Seeing the public sentiment, the NC is likely to adopt a middle path by delaying and putting off the bill to another session. “The NC is in a Catch-22 situation. It can’t support the bill nor can it openly oppose it. So, it will try to get it delayed. Opposition leaders will try to corner the NC on this issue,” says Ishfaq Ahmad, a Srinagar-based political analyst.

Back to business

Official sources admit the sale of alcohol has almost doubled in the UT in the past decade. In the past six years, the Jammu and Kashmir government has granted liquor licences to businessmen in the Valley, where a majority of shops had closed down during militancy in the ’90s. Not only in Srinagar, wine shops have opened up in rural areas of Kashmir, too.

On May 17, 2022, unidentified motorcycle-borne militants rode up to the newly opened wine shop at Dewan Bagh in Baramulla and lobbed a grenade inside the shop, injuring four employees of which Ranjit Singh of Rajouri succumbed to his injuries. After remaining closed for a few months, the liquor shop is open and it’s business as usual with the government providing security.