LAHORE - City police last week arrested a few hotel owners for violating the ‘Ehtram-e-Ramazan Ordinance’ during raids in the Manga Mandi police area. Later, they were sent to jail.

Special teams of the city district government have also been constituted to monitor hotels and restaurants in order to implement the Ordinance, introduced in the country in 1981 under the rule of former military dictator Gen Zia-ul-Haq.

According to city district government officials, more than 100 people have been sent to jails for violating Ehtram-e-Ramazan Ordinance in Lahore since the start of the holy month. The special teams raided hotels and roadside restaurants in different parts of the metropolis to take action against the violators.

On the other hand, insiders say the whole exercise being done by police and city district government was merely paperwork to maintain performance. They said that most of the raids were conducted at bus stands and railways station where food outlets remain open to facilitate passengers. The police and district government officials arrested some poor people and a few owners of the roadside hotels to register their ‘good performance’.

In early 90s, nobody could even think of eating, drinking, or smoking at a public place during fasting hours in the holy month of Ramazan. Unfortunately, now the violation of ‘Ehtram-e-Ramazan Ordinance’ is a thing of the past since food and fruit stalls sold round the clock in many parts of the city.

Ehtram-e-Ramazan Ordinance was passed in 1981 under the rule of former military dictator Gen Zia-ul-Haq and has since been in effect without amendments. The law states that “no person who according to the tenets of Islam is under obligation to fast shall eat, drink or smoke in a public place during fasting hours in the month of Ramazan.”

However, the police and district administration are helpless to launch a large-scale crackdown against the violators due to one or another reason. Cooked and baked food items are available in abundance everywhere as roadside stalls, canteens, and even general stores remain open during the fasting hours. From cigarettes to bread and fast-food to fruits, everything is available in the markets during this time.

Either, the authorities are not interested in taking strict action against the violators or they are themselves part of the problem. Sometimes, the government bodies take action only against the poor to show ‘satisfactory performance’ for the record but they are powerless to stop people eating and drinking inside cars and at food points in the posh localities.

There are several eateries in the posh areas like Johar Town, Gulberg, DHA, and Model Town which are serving people food indoors with free home delivery. Three such eateries in the Lahore’s posh areas were raided by the police a couple of days. The policemen were told that they were serving food indoors, so there is no question of the Ordinance’s violation.

Most interestingly, many of the food outlets start serving cooked and baked items soon after noon. Fruit shops begin selling fruits in the morning and the business continues till late night. Hence buying and eating food items during fasting hours is no more a problems for the violators of the Ordinance.

Also last week, the police raided a few coffee shops in Gulberg and Johar Town. The eateries were found serving lunch and hi-tea to the people including some foreigners. The management of the eateries were told to shut down in observance of the Ordinance and warned of action if they continued to violate the law. The police did not arrest any violator and preferred to leave the place.

Under the ordinance, all cinema houses, theatres, and similar establishments or institutions shall remain closed during the month of Ramazan from the time of sunset to the expiration of three hours thereafter. If the proprietor, manager, servant, or other person in charge of a cinema house, theatre, or a similar establishment or institution contravenes the provisions, he would be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with a fine which may extend to Rs500 or with both.

Section four of the ordinance says that exemptions shall apply in respect of a canteen or kitchen maintained at a hospital for serving food to patients, a restaurant or canteen within the premises of a railway station, airport, seaport or bus stand, or in a train or aircraft, a kitchen or the dining car of a train, or a kitchen or canteen meant for children within the premises of a primary school.

Decline in sale of liquor and narcotics

On the other hand, the sale of liquor and narcotics registered a slight decrease in the metropolis during the holy month. But many bars in leading hotels are seen openly selling liquor to their unauthorised customers these days.

A bootlegger told The Nation that the sale of liquor dropped but slightly. “We are regularly selling liquor to the same customers in town. The sale has dropped due to Ramazan but the business is ongoing,” he added.

During the last two weeks, the police also arrested several drug pushers and seized huge quantity of narcotics from their possession.

The raids were part of the police campaign against drugs and alcohol. The scale of police crackdowns reveals the drug trade has become booming business in the metropolis. Law enforcing agencies are struggling to make the city drug free but the sale in multiplying due to one or another reason.

Gambling dens still operational

What to say about the Ehtram-e-Ramazan Ordinance when many gambling dens are operating openly in the metropolis. Lahore police last week raided several gambling dens and arrested dozens of gamblers. The suspects were involved in betting on cricket matches, snookers, and placards.

Police said the gambling in the holy month swelled to a great extent with the start of the international cricket champions’ trophy. The city police are directed to step up crackdown on gambling dens to punish the gamblers.