People running eateries who think it is fine to serve people food indoors during fasting hours need to rethink their business strategy, or face the ire of the law.
Two such eateries in the capital’s posh in sector F-6 sector were recently raided by the police and warned of “strict action” if they violate the Ehtiraam-e-Ramazan Ordinance again.
Assistant Commissioner (AC) City Muhamad Ali said they raided Mocca Coffee and Gloria Jeans café in Kohsar Market and found the two eateries serving lunch to people, including foreigners.
He said the two eateries were told to shut down in observance of the ordinance and warned of action if they continue to violate the law.
The AC said the ordinance empowers an executive magistrate to take a suo motu action against those who violate the ordinance and hold a summary trial at the spot. He added that if implicated, violators are liable to three years imprisonment or a fine of Rs500, or both.
While the police did not disclose what prompted them to conduct the raid, an official of the city administration told The Express Tribune that the action was taken on the complaint of a woman against Street 1 Cafe, which is another restaurant in the same market, for serving lunch to people during Ramazan.
However, the official said the restaurant was closed at the time of the raid.
Foreigners not targeted, but not off the hook
One of the customers at Mocca Coffee who witnessed the episode said that the raiding party discriminated against the locals.
An official of the administration said, “At this point we don’t want to be too strict on foreigners and non-Muslims; however, they are not specifically exempted under the law either.”
What the law states
Ehtiram-e-Ramazan Ordinance was passed in 1981 under the rule of former military dictator Gen Ziaul Haq and has since been in effect without amendments.
The law states that “no person who according to the tenets of Islam is under obligation to fast shall eat, drink or smoke in a public place during fasting hours in the month of Ramazan”.
The law identifies public places as “any hotel, restaurant, canteen, house, room, tent, enclosures, road lane, bridge or other place to which the public have access”.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 5th, 2012.
COMMENTS (19)
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“no person who according to the tenets of Islam is under obligation to fast shall eat, drink or smoke in a public place during fasting hours in the month of Ramazan”. The police havent understood the meaning of this clause - it says a person "under obligation to fast" should not eat/drink in a public place - that means foreigners and even Muslims who are exempted from fasting (eg pregnant women, the elderly and sick) can do so bcs they are NOT "under obligation" to do so.
@Uzair: Islam is the fastest growing because Muslims usually have more kids than others, not because people are converting. Prove me wrong if you can.
@Zalim Singh: Well you dont need to worry if Islam would spread or be respected or not. Its the fastest growing religion, it has all the respect it needs to attract non-muslims in the 1st world to turn towards Islam's principles and ideology. Islam wasn't spread by force, this law is an overdoing nothing else.
All respects to my great religion Islam. Its a bit over done imposing this law onto the foreigners who are supposed to be guests and served food at their lunch or meal times. Yes we should allow certain places to serve food as in Dubai. Restaurants could serve food but not publicly like their at Islamabad's Gelato Affairs's neighbouring restaurants. This law exists in the Islamic world to show respect to those who are fasting, so that they dont feel the crave for food seeing others eating.
Don't our Assistant Commissioners have anything better to do than raiding restaurants?
People who argue that Islam was not spread by the sword should ponder. If a punitive ordinance such as this (with no exception for non believers) can exist in 21st century, it doesn't take much to imagine how it was a 1000 years ago.
What a stark difference between two best friends pakistan and china. one wont let any but eat, and another wont let anybody not eat.
made for each other couple.
LOL at your Islamic Ordinances..
Okay, so the foreigners and/or non-muslims must follow the rules as per the law of Pakistan but same people (Pakistani and/or muslims) should not have to follow the rules in other countries (Europe, US, Canada) and ask for Shariah laws there.......Really????
Never knew there was such a law! I wonder where Zia got these brilliant ideas from! Cant find them in Quran & Sunnah! ..... Pakistan MUST change ALL laws made by Zia, if they plan to survive!
jahil law.. in dubai. where there millions of westerners.. there are arrangements made during lunch hours. the restaurants are allowed to serve food but behind a curtain or tent. However no one is allowed to eat or drink publicly during ramadan hours, there are designated places where the non muslims can eat. we just continue to make a laughing stock of ourselves in this world..Pakistan should learn from UAE on showing religious tolerance,
Islam is supposed to be a religion without compulsions- according to Muslims themselves. Then why force this fasting on anybody? Even Muslims should be able to eat- if they want to. otherwise it will never gain respect in the modern world.
a fine of Rs500! oh noes!
Zia ul Haq put this country on a path of self destruction. This ordinance should be repealed immediately.
This actually shows the divide between the elite and the middle classes. Restaurants in middle class localities always respect Ramadan while those in the posh F6 localities dont care
I mean what if a non-Muslim wants to eat? This is just stupid and nowhere in Islam is there is something like this!
Nowhere in Quran or Sunnah is there any Ehtiram-e-Ramazan Ordinance. Made-up so-called 'Islamic Laws' of Pakistan.
Another Zia era ordinance which is utter unislamic nonsense. There is absolutely no islamic jurisprudential justification for denying food and drinks to people who are not fasting (whether they are non-muslims or are muslims but otherwise exempted from fasting due to e.g. health, travel etc.) What a perverse sense of distorted religiosity that a lady is concerned that Street 1 Cafe is serving food to non-fasting customers! Mocca is even neatly tucked away on the first floor and Gloria's customers have enough sense to sit inside during Ramadan... This reminds me of yet another recent case of misguided vigilantism i.e. that of the lady in Espresso Lahore. These aunties need to mind the state of their souls (Nufus) and brush up on their basic islamic jurisprudence (Fard Ayn Fiqh) before they subject others to their 30-odd days of televangelism powered "awakening"...
We believe in spreading Islam by force. Why force roza on someone who does not want to keep it? Force will make it worst, definitely not better.