A wave of violent demonstrations targeting KFC outlets across Pakistan has resulted in one fatality and the arrest of at least 40 individuals, authorities confirmed this week, according to the BBC.
The protests, driven by anger over the ongoing conflict in Gaza, have seen demonstrators accuse the fast-food franchise of being aligned with the United States and its ally Israel. Multiple incidents have been documented in key urban centers in recent days, including Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi.
Footage circulating on social media platforms depicts mobs storming KFC branches, wielding iron rods and issuing threats to destroy the premises. In Karachi, two locations were reportedly set ablaze before law enforcement intervened.
One viral clip shows a protester shouting, “They are buying bullets with the money you make,” underscoring the intensity of the sentiment behind the boycott movement.
The most tragic incident occurred on April 14 in Sheikhupura, near Lahore, where a KFC staff member was fatally shot. According to Sheikhupura Regional Police Officer Athar Ismail, 45-year-old Asif Nawaz was working in the restaurant's kitchen when he was struck by a bullet fired from a distance exceeding 100 feet.
Public reaction across the country has included widespread condemnation of the Gaza conflict. Islamist political group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), which has long advocated for protests against Israel and the US, denied orchestrating the attacks on KFC locations.
As of now, KFC and its parent company, Yum Brands, have not issued any public response to the recent unrest in Pakistan.
KFC has a presence in Israel, having first entered Israel in the late 1980s with a single location in Tel Aviv, which later closed. KFC returned to Israel in 1993 and closed again in 2012. The brand relaunched in Israel in 2019, but the new branches are not kosher.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat and the Seventh Day of Passover in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)