RAWALPINDI -UNS: Pakistan’s historic Murree Brewery, which was established in 1860 during the British rule at Ghora Gali Murree, has finally managed to get permission to export beer after nearly fifty years.
The Murree Brewery was originally built to cater to the needs of British soldiers and the colonial community, but over time it became one of the oldest and most successful companies in Pakistan.
In its more than a century and a half history, Murree Brewery has faced many storms like earthquakes, riots, partition of India and strict religious and legal restrictions, but despite this the institution has survived.
In the last financial year, its revenue has crossed one hundred million dollars, which is an extraordinary milestone for any Pakistani industrial enterprise.
Today, the company is led by third-generation CEO Asfandyar Bhandara, who hails from Pakistan’s Parsi Zoroastrian community and is also a member of the National Assembly.
Under his leadership, Murree Brewery is now venturing into global markets. Limited exports to Japan, UK and Portugal have already started, while Europe, Asia and Africa are being targeted as major future markets.
According to Isfandiar Bhandara, his grandfather Peshutan Bhandara and late father MP Bhandara also tried to export but they could not succeed because Pakistan is an Islamic country where advertising is not allowed. “We have always quietly done good work and brewed good beer and now through exports we are getting a chance to show the world our 164-year history and quality,” he says. In 1977, the political movement under the pressure of which liquor was banned was called Pakistan National Alliance.
The protest, which was a political counter to an arson attack against a republican government, banned alcohol, which was neither the result of popular demand nor based on any scientific research or social consensus, but became a political compulsion of the government of the day, which later became a military dictator. It became part of ideological policy.
Before it was banned in 1977, Murri beer was exported to India, Afghanistan, the Gulf countries and even the United States, and Kabul was among the markets that today are under the strict rule of the Taliban.
This development is an important milestone for an ancient and resilient Pakistani institution like Murree Brewery, which has maintained its place despite the changing political, social and legal conditions since the British era till today.
It is also worth mentioning that the original factory of Murree Brewery was located in Ghoda Gali Murree where its Gothic style building was burnt down in the riots of 1947.
A brewery established in the 1880s in Quetta was completely destroyed in the devastating earthquake of 1935 and was not rebuilt.
Currently, the company’s factories are located in Rawalpindi and Hatar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
After the demerger in 1947, the company came under the ownership of the Parsi Bhandara family, which continues to run it successfully till date.
