Recently, Pakistani authorities have arrested at least 178 individuals following an unprecedented series of violent attacks against KFC outlets in major cities such as Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. These incidents appear to be motivated by anti-American sentiment and anger at Israel’s military actions against Gaza. Instagram @RTNews + 8 Attacks involving over ten KFC restaurants were launched by protesters against U.S. presence, seen by some as symbols. One tragic incident took place in Lahore when an employee of one of these KFC outlets was shot dead by unknown gunmen without any protest taking place at that time; authorities are currently looking into motive for such shootings and authorities are currently conducting their investigation into why KFC employee died so suddenly; although no protest was taking place. Devdiscourse +6 DT News =6 The Times of Israel +6 Daily Sabah = +6 Lahore police responded swiftly and appropriately by increasing security measures at 27 KFC locations, according to Senior Officer Faisal Kamran of Lahore Police, with additional security measures being put into effect and investigations ongoing into individual and group involvement in these attacks on KFC locations. Eleven individuals, including one belonging to Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), have been arrested; this included one from TLP itself who denies organizing protests targeting KFC locations (denial issued via official communication by TLP). http://en.bd-pratidin.com/11 DT News +4 Primari +4 Devdiscourse +5 The Times of Israel +6 At the core of these events is an ongoing conflict in Gaza that started with Hamas’ attack on southern Israel in October 2023 and has resulted in over 51,000 Palestinian deaths since then reportedly by Israeli military operations; protests and boycotts of Western brands in Pakistan and other Muslim-majority nations has ensued due to this slaughter (Daily Sabah +1; Reuters +1; Devdiscourse +2). For further reading see Daily Sabah on twitter (+1 for tweets; 1 for updates from Devdiscourse); plus 2 more sources are listed for Daily Sabah +2 @ devdiscourse @devdiscourse +3 Economic effects of boycotts in Pakistan have been clear; Coca-Cola and PepsiCo brands such as those produced in the U.S. have seen their market shares decline and local brands such as those manufactured locally have gained popularity as consumers seek alternatives. Religious leaders in Pakistan have called for peaceful protests and boycotts and advised against violence or property damage during these demonstrations and boycotts; for this reason they issued religious leaders such as Devdiscourse +2, with daily updates about these actions; it can be found here and here As tensions escalate, authorities continue to monitor the situation closely and stress the importance of lawful and peaceful expressions of dissatisfaction.
