Centaurus Mall is one of Islamabad’s hottest attractions. Yet the mall’s management caused a roar on social media when it announced on Thursday that the mall would enforce an entry fee of Rs. 100… to go shopping.
However, that isn’t what rubbed people the wrong way. In a public notice, the administration of the mall also included an exhaustive list of people who would be exempt from paying the fee, which by the way includes every single person who can actually afford to pay it.
The public notice listed 23 types of people who will not have to purchase the entry coupons. Those exempted include all women and children under 12, senior citizens, lawmakers and executives, diplomats and foreigners, journalists and lawyers, members of country clubs, doctors and teachers. Further, the notice said, “famous players of hockey, cricket, football and golf” and “celebrities” do not have to purchase the entry coupon.
 However, the mall management defended the move as a measure to facilitate customers.
“To ensure that shopping at Centaurus does not become inconvenient to them, we have decided to introduce an entry coupon of Rs100 per person,” the public notice read. Further, speaking to Wall Street Journal, Kashif S Butt, the marketing manager at the Mall, said the entry coupon was not intended to exclude any class of people. “We have excluded all women and children, all senior citizens, regardless of where they come from or how much they have from the coupon policy,” Butt said.
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