Police have arrested dozens of individuals throughout Pakistan in latest weeks following greater than 10 mob assaults on the U.S.-based fast-food chain KFC, officers reported.
The assaults come amid rising anti-American sentiment and opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Authorities in main cities, together with Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, confirmed a minimum of 11 incidents through which KFC shops had been focused by protesters armed with sticks. Police have taken a minimum of 178 individuals into custody in reference to the assaults.
KFC and its mother or father firm, Yum Brands, each headquartered within the U.S., have but to answer requests for remark.
A police official, talking on situation of anonymity, mentioned one KFC worker was shot and killed earlier this week at a retailer on the outskirts of Lahore by unidentified gunmen.
The official famous that there was no protest on the time, and authorities are investigating whether or not the killing was politically motivated or pushed by different elements.
In Lahore, police mentioned they had been ramping up safety at 27 KFC shops across the metropolis after two assaults came about and 5 others had been prevented.
“We are investigating the role of different individuals and groups in these attacks,” mentioned Faisal Kamran, a senior Lahore police officer.
He added that 11 individuals, together with a member of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) celebration, had been arrested within the metropolis.
Kamran clarified that the protests weren’t formally organized by the TLP.
TLP spokesperson Rehan Mohsin Khan mentioned the group “has urged Muslims to boycott Israeli products, but it has not given any call for protest outside KFC.”
“If any other person claiming to be a TLP leader or activist has indulged in such activity, it should be seen as their personal action and has nothing to do with the party’s policy,” Khan mentioned.
KFC has lengthy been considered as an emblem of the U.S. in Pakistan and has borne the brunt of anti-American sentiment in latest many years, with protests and assaults.
Western manufacturers have confronted boycotts and different types of protest in Pakistan and different Muslim-majority nations in latest months resulting from Israel’s navy offensive within the Gaza Strip.
The newest battle started following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, incursion into southern Israel, through which 1,200 individuals had been killed and 251 had been taken hostage to Gaza.
Since then, greater than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed within the Israeli offensive, principally girls and kids, in accordance with native well being authorities.
Yum Brands has mentioned one in all its different manufacturers, Pizza Hut, has confronted extended results from boycotts associated to Israel’s battle in Gaza.
In Pakistan, native manufacturers have made inroads into the fast-growing cola market, as some shoppers want to keep away from U.S. manufacturers.
According to GlobalData, Coca-Cola’s market share in Pakistan dropped to five.7% in 2023 from 6.3% in 2022, whereas PepsiCo’s share fell to 10.4% from 10.8%.
Earlier this month, non secular clerics in Pakistan referred to as for a boycott of any merchandise or manufacturers that they are saying help Israel or the U.S. economic system, however urged individuals to stay peaceable and keep away from destroying property.
Source: www.dailysabah.com