A restaurant in Thatta has apologised to a group of women which the restaurant had earlier refused to serve due to them belonging to the Hindu religion.
The victims of the incident were members of the minority wing of Pakistan People’s Party, who were on their way to Larkana. The restaurant in question is Al Habib, located on the National Highway.
When the group arrived at the restaurant, the management, upon sensing that they were Hindus, refused to serve them food and asked them to leave.
The incident was extensively reported in Sindhi newspapers of Thatta and Karachi. Subsequently, a campaign was launched against the discriminatory nature of the actions of Al-Habib’s management.
The backlash was so severe that the manager of the hotel along with its attendants invited the Hindu community members and apologised to them for the incident.
The manager also presented the women with Sindhi ajrak, which is seen as a mark of honour and respect in the local tradition.
Kapil Dev, a human-rights activist, while talking to international media confirmed that the matter had been settled as the restaurant management had realised their actions as unacceptable.
Dev said, “They invited our honourable Hindu families back and broke bread with them.”
He added that the women had accepted the apology and the matter had been settled.
Dev said, “This land belongs to Sindhis and such acts of discrimination on the basis of religion will distort our exemplary interfaith harmony.”
Talking to international media, the manager of the restaurant said that the matter had been resolved. “It was nothing but a misunderstanding between one of the attendants of the restaurant and a minority member of the party,” he said.
Describing the incident, he said, "Our attendant had only requested the woman not to spit on the floor that resulted in a minor altercation and the delegation members exaggerated it into a Hindu-Muslim issue, which was very unfortunate."
Activists across religions condemned the incident. Pakistan is no stranger to discrimination against its religious minorities, and at a time when anti-minority sentiment is rising across the region in particular and the world in general, the apology on part of the manager is a welcome respite from the prevailing bigotry.
The victims of the incident were members of the minority wing of Pakistan People’s Party, who were on their way to Larkana. The restaurant in question is Al Habib, located on the National Highway.
When the group arrived at the restaurant, the management, upon sensing that they were Hindus, refused to serve them food and asked them to leave.
The incident was extensively reported in Sindhi newspapers of Thatta and Karachi. Subsequently, a campaign was launched against the discriminatory nature of the actions of Al-Habib’s management.
The backlash was so severe that the manager of the hotel along with its attendants invited the Hindu community members and apologised to them for the incident.
The manager also presented the women with Sindhi ajrak, which is seen as a mark of honour and respect in the local tradition.
Kapil Dev, a human-rights activist, while talking to international media confirmed that the matter had been settled as the restaurant management had realised their actions as unacceptable.
Dev said, “They invited our honourable Hindu families back and broke bread with them.”
He added that the women had accepted the apology and the matter had been settled.
Dev said, “This land belongs to Sindhis and such acts of discrimination on the basis of religion will distort our exemplary interfaith harmony.”
Talking to international media, the manager of the restaurant said that the matter had been resolved. “It was nothing but a misunderstanding between one of the attendants of the restaurant and a minority member of the party,” he said.
Describing the incident, he said, "Our attendant had only requested the woman not to spit on the floor that resulted in a minor altercation and the delegation members exaggerated it into a Hindu-Muslim issue, which was very unfortunate."
Activists across religions condemned the incident. Pakistan is no stranger to discrimination against its religious minorities, and at a time when anti-minority sentiment is rising across the region in particular and the world in general, the apology on part of the manager is a welcome respite from the prevailing bigotry.