Anger over French restaurant in Islamabad that refuses to serve Pakistanis

Anger over French restaurant in Islamabad that refuses to serve Pakistanis
By Chris Harris
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A French restaurant in Islamabad has been reportedly shut down by police amid anger over its refusal to serve Pakistanis.

La Maison, run by Philippe Lafforgue, says its use of alcohol and non halal food meant it was unable to allow natives in.

The policy has led to a storm of anger on social networking sites, after Pakistani journalist Cyril Almeida highlighted the issue. In a Twitter post questioning the resturant, he used the hashtag #NoToApartheid

Police have now raided and closed the restaurant, according to media reports.

Lafforgue, in a letter to Almeida, said: “I am telling you it is impossible to open a place to the public when we serve food non halal. I cannot change the receipts (sic – recipes) of french food. So we will stand on our policies. Everybody is welcome even Pakistani people with a dual nationality. I don’t want to hurt the sensitivity of muslim people. What you call discrimination, I call it respect.”

Asad_Umar</a> i have a complaint: why is there a public restaurant operating in your constituency that bars Pakistanis? LaMaison. NoToApartheid</p>&mdash; cyril almeida (cyalm) December 18, 2013

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