A dead after protests against KFC branches in Pakistan

Pakistan police carried out dozens of arrests following a series of demonstrations targeting the KFC branches across the country, which led a man to kill.

The demonstrators, angry with the Gaza War, urged a boycott of the chain, saying that it is a symbol of the United States and its ally Israel.

At least 20 attempts at attacks on KFC points of sale were recorded across the country in last week, the Pakistan Minister of State said Talal Chaudhry at the BBC.

Videos on social networks show armed crowds of iron stems entering KFC stores and threatening to burn them before the police arrive to arrest the demonstrators. In Karachi, two stores were burnt down.

A video on social networks shows a crying man: “They buy bullets with the money you earn.”

Condiating violence, Chaudhry said that “most of the sellers involved are Pakistani” and “the profits go to the Pakistani”.

A police officer confirmed to BBC News that the man who had been killed, Asif Nawaz, 45, was a member of the KFC staff who was shot down during one of the demonstrations in the city of Sheikhupura, on the outskirts of Lahore on April 14.

Sheikhupura regional police officer Athar Ismail said Nawaz worked in the kitchen at the time and had been hit in the shoulder by a ball from a pistol more than 100 feet distance. He told BBC News that the main culprit was still free, but that the police had made 40 arrests so far.

A bullet drawn from this distance is generally not fatal, but a post-mortem noted that after having struck his shoulder, the ball was heading towards his chest.

Ismail told BBC News that there was no evidence so far who suggested that Mr. Nawaz was the planned objective and that the shooting may have been accidental.

Through Pakistan, influential personalities condemned war in Gaza.

The Islamist party, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) called for demonstrations against Israel and the United States, but denied any involvement in the attacks on KFC.

The most influential Sunni scholarship holder in Pakistan, Mufti Taqi Usmani, encouraged a boycott of products perceived as linked to war.

But both urged the demonstrators to avoid using violence.

Usmani said in the remarks made to the National Palestine Conference Thursday that even if it was essential to boycott products and businesses or linked to Israel, Islam “is not a religion that encourages others” and said it was prohibited to “throw stones or put the life of anyone at risk”.

“So continue your protest and your boycott, but do it peacefully. There should not be violence or non-pictorial behavior,” he said.

TLP spokesperson Rehan Mohin Khan said the group “urged Muslims to boycott Israeli products, but that he has given no call to protest outside KFC”.

There have been several cases of Western brands faced with attacks, boycotts and demonstrations in Pakistan and other Muslim countries since the start of the War of Israel in Gaza.

Last year, McDonald’s confirmed that he would buy all of his Israeli restaurants because a boycott concerning his support perceived for Israel caused a sales crisis.

In 2023, Starbucks called for peace and blamed the “false declaration” of his opinions after a series of manifestations and boycott campaigns linked to the War of Israel-Gaza.

KFC and his parent company Yum Brands have not yet responded to the request for comments from the BBC.