Uproar over Pakistani bakeries’ boycott of Christmas cakes

Two popular bakeries in the Pakistani city of Karachi have caused uproar on social media after refusing to decorate cakes with Christmas greetings.
The controversy began after Celestia Naseem Khan, a Kara-chi-based student, reported on social media that Delizia Bakery refused to write “Merry Christ-mas” on a cake she bought.
“So I recently went to Delizia to buy a cake and when I asked them to write “Merry Christmas” on it and they clearly declined me, the guy said he’s not allowed to write it and they have given an order from the kitchen about this,” Khan said.
Following her post, thousands sent Merry Christmas greetings to the bakery while some Christians projected the bakery’s refusal as an expression of increasing intolerance in the port city known for its inter-religious community.
The bakery management, however, said in a social media post the refusal was an individual action and not part of management policy.
“This is clearly the act of an individual and we do not discriminate on the basis of religion or creed. At the moment we are taking action against him. It was done in an individual capacity and is not company policy,” it said. “It may have been done due to lack of education and awareness that ‘Merry Christ-mas’ means wishing someone a happy Christmas, nothing else.”