French restaurant in Islamabad shut down for 'no Pakistanis allowed' policy

[Spring Onion]

French restaurant in Islamabad shut down for 'no Pakistanis allowed' policy


ISLAMABAD: A French restaurant, running in a posh locality here, was raided and shut down by police following a public outcry over its policy of not allowing Pakistanis in.

'La Maison', running out of Islamabad's F7-1, was not allowing Pakistanis in, citing the French style of cooking that uses wine.

Also, the food was not halal and even pork was served.

The controversial policy had led to a storm on various social media networks, with many comparing the policy to apartheid and the infamous colonial boards outside clubs in India during British rule.

The momentum against the restaurant was started by Cyril Almeida, senior journalist working with a leading Pakistani daily, who launcheda Twitter war against the restaurant.

The restaurant-owner Philippe Lafforgue wrote to him, claiming he is changing his policy.

Lafforgue, however, continued to bar Pakistanis.

"What can I do? I am just trying to respect the local culture. Pakistanis with dual nationality are allowed," Lafforgue had said prior to the raid.

"But after consulting the authorities, my advisor and my partner, I am telling you it is impossible to open a place to the public when we serve non-halal food. I cannot change the recipes of French food," he had said in a letter.

"So we will stand by our policies. Everybody is welcome, even Pakistani people with a dual nationality. I don't want to hurt the sensitivities of Muslim people."

He said he had "just opened this place to give to the people an authentic French cuisine... And it is not compatible with the faith of the people here. So it will remain private".

This is not the first such incident in Islamabad. In 2009, another French restaurant 'The Cordon Rouge' hung a "foreigners only" sign, which was later removed after protests.

According to police sources, they recovered huge quantity of illegal liquor from 'La Maison'. The raid was carried out by the police with TV camera crews in tow.

The small restaurant running out of Lafforgue's house, was a hit with the expats. One had to make prior booking, giving international passport details.

'La Maison' was similar to the New York-style "secret restaurants" that operate in the federal capital.


French restaurant in Islamabad shut down for 'no Pakistanis allowed' policy - The Times of India

 

[khanboy007]

AWESOME

but why did they allow it's opening in the first place or was that a secret too

 

[Spring Onion]

AWESOME

but why did they allow it's opening in the first place or was that a secret too

well how can we disallow when there are many foreign ones already

 

[Leviza]

Good job, these sort of restaurants are there for black water and other agency workers so , they need to be highlighted and closed by public pressure ...

well how can we disallow when there are many foreign ones already

foreign restaurants are not the issue, they all allow Pakistani into it as well, issue is 'secret restaurants' and not for Pakistani

 

[khanboy007]

well how can we disallow when there are many foreign ones already

those foreign ones "allow Pakistanis".....
this one was a bit too unique with it's customer service policy, so it should deserved a unique treatment....and thats exactly what it got

 

[pak-marine]

another milestone achieved by this great nation , good that now they have taken action against discrimination now lets see how many landlords they bar from renting their properties to consulates and foreign embassies only (who openly advertise) landlords who are not willing to rent their properties on sectarian grounds , employers only employing people of a certain sect ..

 

[nair]

I dono what was the restaurant owner thinking when decided to stop local population from entering his restaurant..... Even though the reason might be legitimate but you cannot differentiate customer based on nationality.......

@Spring Onion Long time no C? Happy NY btw

 

[airmarshal]

How were they serving pork in the restaurant? Where were they getting it and why was itd import allowed. Of course government is allowed in this at some level!

 

[third eye]

I see no problems in the whole thing except for the fact that it should not have been allowed to be opened in the first place.

If the locals did not appreciate the cuisine they wouldn't go to the place , but how can a discriminatory thing like selective customers be permitted in the first place.

How long did this place run ?

 

[halupridol]

gud...........