In Islamabad: “You can’t eat here because you are Pakistani”

[VCheng]

Fine French food in the heart of Pakistan, just no Pakistanis allowed - World News

Fine French food in the heart of Pakistan, just no Pakistanis allowed


By Wajahat S. Khan, NBC News Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Fine French dining in the heart of Pakistan? Sounds great — that is unless you’re Pakistani and you’re not allowed.
Say, what?
That’s right, restaurant owner Philippe Lafforgue, opened the 20-seat “La Maison” last October with the controversial policy.
“It’s not a discrimination thing. It’s a culturally sensitive thing. How can I serve pork and booze to Pakistanis without getting into trouble? So I have a rule: no locals getting in.”
By Islamic tenet and Pakistani law, Muslims are forbidden from alcohol and pork consumption.
As a foreigner, Lafforgue claims he is allowed a license to serve alcohol to only non-Muslims; but there are no rules that allow him to deny Pakistanis entrance to his restaurant or a meal.
He has the right to reject serving alcohol to Muslim customers – as many other local hotels do – but he decided to deny Pakistanis entrance entirely. Even thought his entire staff – including his bartender and chef – is Pakistani.
“It’s not discrimination, it’s my respect to the people,” said Lafforgue. “I can’t open it up to the Pakistani people because I serve alcohol. If I start serving locals, which is obviously profitable, I will have to bribe the police…which I want to avoid.”
However, Lafforgue’s blanket ban on Pakistani customers has been challenged.
Several Pakistanis – including non-Muslims who are legally entitled to consume any food or drink they want – have questioned the policy, creating a stir on social media, and forcing the police to take note.
“It’s very straightforward,” said Cyril Almeida, a 34-year-old newspaper editor who started tweeting about the restaurant’s policies when his reservation was rejected because he had a Pakistani passport. “It’s a restaurant, it’s open to the public, and anybody can eat there…except Pakistanis. That’s wrong, and that’s offensive.
“How does a foreigner run this money-spinning business out of the heart of the Pakistani capital, and not let Pakistanis in,” Almeida asked. “And how does he get to ask me to produce my passport? He’s not an airport. He’s not an international authority. He’s not an embassy. How can he do this? Reserving the right to admission doesn’t mean an entire category of people [can be] written off.”
Lafforgue insists that other clubs function across Islamabad with similar rules; however, those are affiliated with embassies and diplomatic missions.
Instead, La Maison is on the ground floor of Lafforgue’s own residence in Islamabad’s posh F7-1 neighborhood and enjoys no embassy connections that would extend it diplomatic privileges. There isn’t even a display sign outside the restaurant.
The police are now onto the issue.
“We got complaints about this place practicing a colonial-style ‘Dogs and Indians Not Allowed’ policy in the middle of Islamabad, serving only foreigners,” said Yasir Afridi, an assistant superintendent of the Islamabad Police. He was referring to the harsh code of the British era when locals, then Indians, served as disempowered second-class citizens of the Raj.
“So I personally called in to make a reservation, and was rejected when I said I was a Pakistani,” said Afridi. “The next step was obviously to check the place out. We found over 300 bottles of non-licensed alcohol and even a casino table.”
The police charged Lafforgue with "unlicensed alcohol," a crime in Pakistan.
“How can you live on our soil and treat us like this,” said Afridi. “No rules allow such behavior. This is not the nineteenth century.”
Lafforgue is still defending his position.
“The cops knew I wasn’t around to show my documents, and that’s why they timed the raid to perfection,” he said. “But now I am fighting it. I am also writing a letter to [Prime Minister] Nawaz Sharif, who is both a fan of fine food and for creating a good atmosphere for foreigners to invest in Pakistan. I hope he listens to my case.”
Serving its last meal – for now – on Saturday evening, Lafforgue is confident he “will be serving pâté in a week or two.”
However, the Islamabad police, insists that Lafforgue has a criminal record in another Pakistani city, Lahore, and are conducting background checks on him.

 

[RescueRanger]

Get out of Pakistan you poncy french bastard.

 

[A.Rafay]

He has criminal record in lahore! It will be interesting to know what he did there.

 

[Amaa'n]

if the above reason stands valid that Pork & Alcohol is being served over their -then trust me no one on their worst day would like to dine in their - so he is actually doing us a favor ---no????
however rather than saying no Pakistani is allowed, the Policy should read - only Non-Muslims to be allowed-----

 

[Leader]

https://twitter.com/x/status/420475950308925440

@RescueRanger @Jazzbot Sir this is the power of civil society and social media !

 

[Black Mamba1]

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

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

 

[Jazzbot]

https://twitter.com/x/status/420475950308925440

@RescueRanger @Jazzbot Sir this is the power of civil society and social media !

Considering today's paid and biased electronic media, social media is doing a great job.

 

[Leader]

so in nutshell Social media is a powerful driver !

 

[pkuser2k12]

this is stupidity ................

 

[pkuser2k12]

so in nutshell Social media is a powerful driver !

Sir tabhi tu atni dard hay main stream media ko pti say.

 

[PakPrinciples]

This is Pakistan, no matter how many screw ups there are, every non muslim has the right to eat whatever they want to as our LAW supports it. Even alcohol,

As far as non-halal food is concerned I believe you may be right that people can legally consume it though Part IX Article 227 (I) of the Constitution would allow us to pass of a law that made halal mandatory (especially when you consider that those who deal in/consume non-halal refused to thank our creator for the meal and pay respect to the animal which gave it's life so we could eat) which is something that needs to be passed (with the only exception making it permissible to sell/consume kosher for Jews which incidentally can be consumed by Muslims when halal isn't available). As far as economics is concerned non-halal foods will always remain a virtually non-existent problem because the vast majority of Pakistani's won't consume it so the market for it will remain insignificant. The public can keep the few butchers who would even sell it from acquiring any livestock and/or persuade them to abandon the business through public pressure.

As for alcohol read chapter 2 subsection 3 and 4 of The Prohibition Order of 1979 which states:

Chapter 1 Preliminary

2.Definitions.

(g) "intoxicant" means an Article specified in the Schedule and includes intoxicating liquor and other Article or any substance which the Provincial Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, declare to be an Intoxicant for the purposes of this Order;
​

Chapter 2 Prohibition and Penalties

3. Prohibition of manufacture, etc, of intoxicants.

1. Subject to the provisions of clause (2) whoever:

(c) sells or serves any intoxicant;
​

4. Owning or possessing intoxicant.

Whoever owns, possesses or keeps in his custody any intoxicant shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term, which may extend to two years, or with whipping not exceeding thirty stripes, and shall also be liable to fine:

Provided that nothing contained in this Article shall apply to a non-Muslim foreigner or to a non-Muslim citizen of Pakistan who keeps in his custody at or about the time of a ceremony prescribed by his religion a reasonable quantity of intoxicating liquor for the purpose of using it as a part of such ceremony: ​

No restaurant has the right to serve alcohol. Furthermore, the only time alcohol can legally be in anyone's possession and consumed is in the case of non-Muslims and only during the time of a religiously prescribed ceremony (i.e. no one has the right to store any on private property) and only enough to satisfy the tenets of their faith. Only religion I know of that requires alcohol is Christianity more specifically Catholicism which uses sacramental wine during the celebration of the Eucharist and even then they only require a sip. Anyone in violation of the law are legally to be subject to lashing along with a fine and private businesses will be shut down if they fail to comply with the law.

That shit isnt applicable on private property.

Hotels can reject on ANY grounds. This coming from a guy who's family members have a major share in Holiday Inn

You seem to be confused about the difference between owning private property versus being allowed to operate a business out of it which requires a business license and compliance with Pakistan's laws.

Since you are an American and not Pakistani have a read of the Federal Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. In the US no private business has the right to refuse service other then for cases where someone is being a general nuisance to other customers and abusive to the staff.

Anyways no point in continuing to argue over it just say your final "au revoir" to La Maison because the place was raided and shut down:
French restaurant restricting Pakistanis shut down | The Stream - Al Jazeera English

"Our Land, Our Way"

If anyone wants to do business or live in Pakistan they either respect the Islamic Republic, it's culture (particularly Islam and it's laws) and our ancestry. If anyone has a problem with that they can simply f*ck off and not come to Pakistan, if they're a citizen then they should relinquish their citizenship or be stripped of it (as per the Pakistani citizenship act of 1951 section 16 subsection 5 since they would be in violation of Article 1 part 5 of the constitution) and never refer to themselves as being a member of our race.

You are an AMERICAN get that in your head.

No, you may be American but I'm a Pakistani-Canadian so "get that in your head".

I will always be Pakistani and a proud Muslim citizen of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. That is my country and my people who share my ancestry.

There seem to be some who have gotten this idea that being a Pakistani or in Pakistan is a right when it's a privilege. This needs to come to an end and it's Pakistani's that need to put a stop to it.

 

[Informant]

SNIP

Since you are an American and not Pakistani have a read of the Federal Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. In the US no private business has the right to refuse service other then for cases where someone is being a general nuisance to other customers and abusive to the staff.

Dust up your knowledge, you're in for a surprise. The Federal Civil Rights Act is to fend of discrimination and the Disabilities Act is made for people for disabilities. The restaurants have and do reserve the right of refusal. Be they in public interest and or the interest of the patrons/employees. This can be anything just as it has sufficient overtones of genuine rationale. FCRA was made for to stop discrimination ( Blacks, Jew, Hispanics, Asians, Gays, Lesbians). The Rosa Parks incident which we all know kick started this bad boy for the better.

A restaurant serves the public, which may confuse you it being as public property. Similarly a business looks out for public interest and welfare hence they decided on the No Pakistanis rule since essentially the majority of the populace is Muslim. Now you may see this as illegal, but on legal grounds it is not and can be very easily defended in the courts. Same as good ol' USA.
Bringing you back to a hotel reserving right to refuse entrance, this shit has gotten better since the hotel bombings. Now we can and have detained any one we thought to be suspicious ( on any grounds ). You wouldnt even know since we do have a silent approval of the LEA. Throwing a hissy fit wont make it the way you want it.

You seem to again misinterpret these laws with our Laws. No-Pakistanis sign wasnt made on discrimination but to fend of claims of serving "Haram" food ( one can argue public interest / patrons interest ). Think about it what would your Islamic Republic of Pakistan's citizen would do in a place serving authentic French food ( mind you they have a thing for white wines in their food ) and bubbly to go along. Pakistanis love discrimination and hypocrisy. We are a hypocritic nation, an Islamic republic. We used to be great now we are the gutters and sewers of this planet. For good reason. Thank your Islamic Republic loving fundoos sending terrorists all up in this world. Literally every terrorist has come to this land of impure man for training. Jesus man open your eyes. Shias blown up, sufis beheaded, Ahmedis literally are the unluckiest lot, polio workers gunned down, a young teenage girl shot in the head, children school blown up, girls have their tits cut off ( yes their breasts, so many horrid stories) Where the **** does that happen? Pakistan. Never have i seen a Pakistani not blame America for its ills. Shit man there are other Muslim countries, why didnt US **** them up good. Pakistan this Pakistan that, Pakistan is nothing in this world, we needed $5 B dollars to stay afloat, nobody even gave us shit, not even KSA, yeh aukat hai tumhari. Quit inserting Islam and everything and open your eyes, the enlightened Muslim era had so many gay scholars, you'd be surprised. Big names who would drink often and adulterate, we seem to romanticize our past. Once the last Prophet SAWS passed away we "Muslims" began killing each other.

And cut this bullshit you feel for Pakistan and love it. Come here and show it, not sitting in that subzero wasteland of a country displaying your love. I am an American, i live here in Pak, and work for this country ( literally ). Buddy you hold a Canadian passport, agar main peeche pardh gaya na aapke idhr, you'd run straight to the consulate, not **** pulce.

Peace out!

 

[PakPrinciples]

Dust up your knowledge, you're in for a surprise. The Federal Civil Rights Act is to fend of discrimination and the Disabilities Act is made for people for disabilities. The restaurants have and do reserve the right of refusal.

The restaurants have and do reserve the right of refusal. Be they in public interest and or the interest of the patrons/employees.

Did you even read my previous response? I already stated that the only reason a restaurant or hotel can refuse service is when someone is abusive to the staff or is disturbing other customers you were the one implying that you can refuse service for any reason (ex. refusing to serve an African-American because you don't want black people in your restaurant) which the two acts I cited confirmed wasn't allowed.

American restaurants do not have the right to refuse service on the basis of age, sex, sexual orientation, religion or natural origin as per the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which was specifically created to abolish any perceived notions of that right.

You are correct that restaurants and hotels, to give two examples, exist on private property but they are also considered places of public accommodation because their primary purpose is to sell food and services to the general public and so are susceptible to equal rights laws. Thus, an unjustifiable refusal of service or even the right for that employer to discriminate based on age, sex, sexual orientation, religion or natural origin is prohibited as per the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

You seem to again misinterpret these laws with our Laws. No-Pakistanis sign wasnt made on discrimination but to fend of claims of serving "Haram" food ( one can argue public interest / patrons interest ).

No, you don't seem to get it.

Pakistan has a very strict no alcohol policy (Prohibition Act of 1979). Restaurants like La Maison restrict access to Pakistani's because they know they'll be found storing alcohol and using it in their dishes (or conducting some other illegal business on premises) along with their patrons consuming it which is in violation of our law meaning that the owners and their customers are subject to lashings and a fine and the business would be raided/shut down. In the case of diplomats (which does not include consular officials) they have diplomatic immunity and would just be thrown out of the country but the others may not be so lucky (especially when it becomes public knowledge) including the staff at the restaurant who aided/abetted in the crime and failed to notify the authorities. Otherwise why wouldn't they offer halal?

To be frank you are correct we aren't the US and in saying that let's be clear no one in Pakistan will ever be given a right that is repugnant or contradictory to the will of our creator as dictated in the Quran and Sunnah (Part IX Article 227 of the Constitution) so effectively all rights particularly those of minorities or foreigners come from Allah swt. Our nation isn't a home for foreign niggers and goras who feel they have imagined "rights" particularly when it comes to trying to colonize any part of our country by restricting my people access to the land our forefathers (ex. my grandfather) bled and died for.

No right exists to serve non-halal food or alcohol particularly considering there is no religion that prohibits the consumption of halal other than Judaism which only permits kosher meat which incidentally can also be consumed by Muslims. If you have a problem with that then gtfo or go vegan because when you're in Pakistan to live by our rules.

“Our Land, Our Way”

And cut this bullshit you feel for Pakistan and love it. Come here and show it, not sitting in that subzero wasteland of a country displaying your love. I am an American, i live here in Pak, and work for this country ( literally ). Buddy you hold a Canadian passport, agar main peeche pardh gaya na aapke idhr, you'd run straight to the consulate, not **** pulce.

In that case you have no say in or right to comment on the affairs of Pakistan because it's not your country and you aren't one of us.

If you love the US so much why don't you get on a plane and go back to your country and show us how much you love it by staying there? Let's be frank Pakistan doesn't need you it's you who needs the job in Pakistan.

As for Canada this "subzero wasteland", an odd choice of words considering the subarctic temperatures crippling parts of the US right now, produces smarter students, has lower obesity rates, lower child mortality rates, longer life spans, better cities, happier citizens, etc... than the down south shit hole we've got to look at on the map called the US.

What you suggested is what I'm working towards though I do go back regularly for a few months (I was just there from May to September). However, aside from me pursuing my Masters after which I had considered going to go to medical school my business interests largely require my presence in Canada and a continuous uninterrupted source of electricity. As for right now I'm doing what I can to help my nation whether it be by buying and promoting as many Pakistani and Canadian made products I can to reaching out to both Muslims and particularly Pakistani's in Canada or abroad over open forums like PDF to even having the chance to meet with local politicians and judges in Punjab and being offered a chance, though I haven't personally taken it yet, to write articles for local newspapers when I do stay in Pakistan made possible thanks to my uncles and cousins.

Thank your Islamic Republic loving fundoos sending terrorists all up in this world. Literally every terrorist has come to this land of impure man for training. Jesus man open your eyes. Shias blown up, sufis beheaded, Ahmedis literally are the unluckiest lot, polio workers gunned down, a young teenage girl shot in the head, children school blown up, girls have their tits cut off ( yes their breasts, so many horrid stories) Where the **** does that happen? Pakistan. Never have i seen a Pakistani not blame America for its ills.

The reason why everyone blames the US is because it's the US that's the root of virtually all problems which explains why the world largely considers it as the greatest threat to peace, stability and prosperity.

Why do you think polio workers are being shot? Thanks to the US using doctors as combatants they've endangered the entire campaign to fight disease not just in Pakistan but globally hence why a multitude of health organizations (including medical colleges within the US) have condemned your government. Furthermore, where does the polio come from? It couldn't be the swarm of Afghans fleeing Afghanistan because of the US occupation which results in malnutrition and stress making it difficult for the body to fight diseases like polio and when they wind up in makeshift camps the UN barely assists with and are given the ability to travel throughout the country those same communicable diseases like polio spread hence why it's so much more a prevalent in KP.

Do you honestly think Pakistan should take morality lessons from the US or any American has the right to talk trash about Pakistan? Yours is a nation built on stolen land and the genocide of it's native peoples (possibly the worst in human history – from an estimated 12 million natives in 1500 to about 237,000 by 1900) who continue to live in what's best described as third world conditions within their own country. A nation developed on the backs of African slaves and impoverished Chinese laborers and which now spreads "freedom" in the form of a failed governance/economic system via death squads (ex. Nicaraguan contras), bombs and sanctions resulting in the deaths of millions. A nation whose agents travel the world kidnapping people from their homes and stuffing them into secret prisons where they are summarily tortured, raped and piled on top of one another to form pyramids of naked prisoners.

Pakistan will resolve it's domestic issues with the Quran and Sunnah as our guides since Islam has fixed rights for minorities unlike "democratic" governments which unfairly persecute minorities whenever "rights" become inconvenient (ex. WWII internment of Japanese-Americans). In fact had Pakistan established total control of the state in accordance with Islam the people would be richer, healthier and safer.