Islamabad (By Ehsan Bukhari):
A fourth hotel in the federal capital has been granted a license to sell alcohol to non-Muslims and foreign nationals, it was revealed during the National Assembly’s question hour session. Responding to a query raised by MNA Nazir Ahmed Bughio, Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi provided a written statement confirming the issuance of liquor licenses to four hotels in Islamabad: Marriott, Serena, Best Western, and the newly added Mövenpick Hotel.
Minister Naqvi stated that these licenses are granted under specific conditions. The fee for an L-2 liquor license is Rs. 500,000, with an annual renewal fee of Rs. 150,000. The Ministry of Interior requires that alcohol be stored separately from other goods and that authorities be informed within seven days of any new shipment. Furthermore, excise officials hold the authority to cancel a license without stating a reason.
Sources disclosed that the license for Mövenpick Hotel was approved after Sardar Yasir Tanveer Ilyas — brother of former AJK Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas and currently the Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Tourism — joined the Pakistan Muslim League (N). Yasir Ilyas developed the hotel in The Centaurus complex, catering to international guests, and subsequently applied for the liquor license through the Islamabad Excise Department.
Officials confirmed that the Mövenpick Hotel license is technically under a construction firm, Pak Gulf, which operates the hotel. With this addition, Islamabad now has four officially licensed hotels permitted to sell alcohol to non-Muslim and foreign guests.
