Western manufacturers have been hit by boycotts and different types of protests in Muslim-majority international locations as a result of Gaza conflict.
Police have arrested near 200 individuals in Pakistan in current weeks after greater than 10 group assaults on shops of the United States-based fast-food chain KFC, sparked by anti-US sentiment, unconditional US backing for Washington’s shut ally Israel and opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza, officers say.
The fast-food chain has turn out to be a goal of protest and boycott calls by Islamist events because the begin of the conflict in Gaza as they hyperlink the model to US support for Israel.
At the very least 178 individuals have been arrested, the officers stated this week.
Police in main cities in Pakistan – together with the southern port metropolis of Karachi, the japanese metropolis of Lahore and the capital, Islamabad – confirmed no less than 11 incidents during which KFC hen eating places have been attacked by protesters armed with sticks and vandalised.
A police official, who spoke on situation of anonymity, stated one KFC worker was shot and killed this week in a retailer on the outskirts of Lahore by unknown gunmen. The official added there was no protest on the time and police have been investigating whether or not the killing was politically motivated or for another motive.
In Lahore, police stated they have been ramping up safety at 27 KFC shops after two assaults happened and 5 have been prevented.
“We’re investigating the position of various people and teams in these assaults,” Faisal Kamran, a senior Lahore police officer instructed the Reuters information company, including that 11 individuals, together with a member of the Islamist social gathering Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), have been arrested within the metropolis. He added the protests weren’t formally organised by the TLP.
TLP spokesman Rehan Mohsin Khan stated the group “has urged Muslims to boycott Israeli merchandise, nevertheless it has not given any name for protest exterior KFC”.
“If another individual claiming to be a TLP chief or activist has indulged in such exercise, it ought to be taken as his private act which has nothing to do with the social gathering’s coverage,” Khan stated.
Western manufacturers have been hit by boycotts and different types of protests in Pakistan, different Muslim-majority international locations and a number of other Western nations over Israel’s navy offensive within the Gaza Strip.
In February final yr, McDonald’s cited boycott campaigns within the Center East, Indonesia and Malaysia for gross sales rising simply 0.7 p.c throughout the fourth quarter of 2023, in contrast with 16.5 p.c progress in the identical quarter the earlier yr.
Unilever – which produces Dove cleaning soap, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Knorr inventory cubes – additionally stated gross sales in Indonesia in the identical quarter had skilled a double-digit decline on account of “geopolitically targeted, consumer-facing campaigns”.
A KFC restaurant within the Pakistan-administered area of Kashmir was additionally set on fireplace in March final yr as protesters chanted “Free Palestine.”
Greater than 51,900 individuals have been killed in Gaza throughout Israel’s conflict, which started 18 months in the past.
At the very least 1,139 individuals have been killed in Israel throughout the Hamas-led assaults of October 7, 2023, and greater than 200 have been taken captive.
KFC and its mum or dad firm Yum Manufacturers haven’t but responded to information of the arrests in Pakistan.
