Luna Caprese back on its feet
April 24, 2008
Islamabad
Luna Caprese — the Italian restaurant in the heart of the capital that came under terrorist attack on March 15 — has reopened.
Now the blast remains in memory only and people are walking in to enjoy a moment of peace and authentic Italian food.
Other than a police car standing outside the restaurant for “security reasons,” people, unperturbed by police patrolling, keep on walking in with a bright smile on their faces to eat Italian delicacies in their favourite corner in the restaurant.
Popularly termed by foreign clientele as “little Italy in the heart of Pakistan,” the restaurant was established by two friends, Ilonca and Nargis, back in December 1995.
Talking to ‘The News,’ Nargis Obroi, one of the partners sharing ownership of the restaurant, narrated her agonising experience from disinformation to the apathy of the establishment in providing any assistance to the wounded employees.
Nargis was away in Karachi on the day of the blast. She saw it happening on television and rushed back the next day to take care of things.
The other partner, Maria Ilonca, an Italian woman, was badly wounded in the blast and is now being treated in Italy. Nargis told ‘The News’ that the Italian government sent a special medical team to accompany Ilonca back to Italy and she is expected to return as soon as she is well enough to move.
According to Nargis, Ilonca says Islamabad is her home and she is waiting anxiously to be back as soon as she is on her feet.
A couple of restaurant employees are still in hospital and Nargis is taking care of their treatment.
“The way things are going, it could happen anywhere to anyone,” Nargis said while talking about the blast. She said that it was a big blow to the goodwill and business the restaurant enjoyed since its setting up. But she managed to open the business in a short span of time on her own without any support or assistance from the government.
Nargis plans to hold a formal reopening ceremony soon and hopes that her partner friend Ilonca returns before that.
Situated in front of the Super Market in Sector F-6, the place offers a slice of Italy in the heart of Islamabad.
Luna Caprese — the Italian restaurant in the heart of the capital that came under terrorist attack on March 15 — has reopened.
Now the blast remains in memory only and people are walking in to enjoy a moment of peace and authentic Italian food.
Other than a police car standing outside the restaurant for “security reasons,” people, unperturbed by police patrolling, keep on walking in with a bright smile on their faces to eat Italian delicacies in their favourite corner in the restaurant.
Popularly termed by foreign clientele as “little Italy in the heart of Pakistan,” the restaurant was established by two friends, Ilonca and Nargis, back in December 1995.
Talking to ‘The News,’ Nargis Obroi, one of the partners sharing ownership of the restaurant, narrated her agonising experience from disinformation to the apathy of the establishment in providing any assistance to the wounded employees.
Nargis was away in Karachi on the day of the blast. She saw it happening on television and rushed back the next day to take care of things.
The other partner, Maria Ilonca, an Italian woman, was badly wounded in the blast and is now being treated in Italy. Nargis told ‘The News’ that the Italian government sent a special medical team to accompany Ilonca back to Italy and she is expected to return as soon as she is well enough to move.
According to Nargis, Ilonca says Islamabad is her home and she is waiting anxiously to be back as soon as she is on her feet.
A couple of restaurant employees are still in hospital and Nargis is taking care of their treatment.
“The way things are going, it could happen anywhere to anyone,” Nargis said while talking about the blast. She said that it was a big blow to the goodwill and business the restaurant enjoyed since its setting up. But she managed to open the business in a short span of time on her own without any support or assistance from the government.
Nargis plans to hold a formal reopening ceremony soon and hopes that her partner friend Ilonca returns before that.
Situated in front of the Super Market in Sector F-6, the place offers a slice of Italy in the heart of Islamabad.
