Islamabad restaurant issues clarification, says demeaning behaviour was ‘banter’

ISLAMABAD: The owners of the Islamabad-based restaurant Cannoli Café Soul have issued a clarification after receiving massive criticism over a viral video of their ‘elitist’ attitude towards an employee.

In an Instagram post, the cafe owners stated that the public had misconstrued their banter with Awais Aftab, the manager of the eatery.  “We are saddened and appalled by the reaction of the people, how they have misconstrued our banter with a team member,” said a statement.

“This video depicts the gup shup between us as a team and is never meant or taken in a hurtful or negative way. If anyone was hurt or offended we apologise, however that was never our intention,” it added.

The statement remained firm in its stance, asserting that the owners “are not required to prove or defend themselves as kind employers.” Addressing allegations of “fluent English elitism” levied against them, the owners also stated that they are proud Pakistanis who love their language and culture.

The now deleted-video posted on the restaurant’s social media showed its owners, Uzma Chaudhry and Dia Haider, asking their manager to speak in English, and then laughing at his response.

The video generated immense notoriety for the restaurant, resulting in “#BoycottCannoli” taking the number one trending slot on Twitter for most of Thursday.