Death toll from toxic alcohol incident in Pakistan rises to 39

Thirty-nine people have now died after drinking homemade liquor mixed with aftershave on Christmas Eve in central Pakistan, officials said on Friday. They include two of the four suspects accused of making the poisonous concoction. Police and hospital officials added that 23 of the 121 people who fell ill in the incident in the town of Toba Tek Singh, about 340 kilometers south of Islamabad, were still in hospital. “So far, 39 people have died after consuming poisonous liquor,” senior police officer Atif Imran, who is investigating the case, told AFP. Most of the dead were Christians. Imran added that two of the four suspects accused of making the concoction had died, while the other two had been charged with murder and terrorism-related offenses. Although there are legal breweries in Pakistan, the sale and consumption of alcohol is banned for Muslims and strictly regulated for minorities and foreigners. While wealthy Pakistanis buy foreign alcohol at highly inflated prices on the black market, the poor often resort to home-brewed beer, which can contain methanol, commonly used in antifreeze and fuel. In October, 11 Christians died after drinking toxic alcohol at a party in Punjab province. In October 2014, 29 drinkers were killed after drinking alcohol tainted with methanol during the Eid festival.