Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: When he met a starving compatriot near his restaurant eight years ago, a Pakistani expat in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) began to offer free meals to those who couldn’t afford it, making sure that his staff never turned away anyone in need.
According to Arab News, founded by Peshawar native Shahid Asghar Bangash in 2008, ‘Karachi Star Restaurant’ is a famous eatery with outlets in the Muweilah and Saja places of Sharjah, specializing in South Asian dishes such as nihari, biryani, karahi and kebabs.
Karachi Star’s owner told Arab News the encounter years ago made him realise there were individuals who came to the UAE in search of work without following the process. As a result, few of them found themselves stranded, with no job and no means to afford even food.
Free meal restaurant
Bangash said that “the free meal project started as the response to the unfortunate circumstance revolving around individuals who came to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through fraudulent agents and were left stranded without jobs or money,”
“As we weren’t able to provide these people with a job, we decided to start providing free meals to them to ease their sufferings.”
He said that there is no limit to the number of people who can receive free food at Karachi Star, and at least fifty such meals are served every day.
Bangash said that “we don’t have any terms and conditions for such people as they can order anything available on the menu that day,”
“To maintain the dignity of those who can’t afford, we have established a system of code words that the staff uses…This way, other customers aren’t aware that someone is eating for free.”
To some, like Pakistani worker Afzal Khan, who was left with no means of supporting himself due to the scam, Karachi Star gave not nutritious food and dignity to keep going but also hope.
