According to police and district officials in Mirpur district of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, angry protesters attacked and vandalized the branch of the famous international fast food chain FC on Kotli Road on Friday night on the charge of supporting Israel. set on fire, affecting a large part of the building.
In various videos posted on social media, protesters were seen chanting anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian slogans.
Following the incident, the local police and administration launched an operation against the attacking protesters, during which, according to officials, there were clashes between more than 400 people and the police that lasted for four hours.
According to Commissioner Mirpur Chaudhary Shaukat, the police used tear gas to disperse the people who attacked the branch, after which 20 people were initially arrested, while during the crackdown, Assistant Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Mirpur. Apart from this, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and three police personnel were also injured.
According to the official Facebook account of Pakistan-administered Kashmir police, 80 people have been arrested so far after the operation conducted by the police to arrest the attackers of KFC in different areas of the city.
What happened?
Commissioner Mirpur Chaudhary Shaukat told Independent Urdu that after Taraweeh prayer on Friday night, protest rallies were taken out from various mosques on Kotli Road, which gathered near KFC, after which the protesters present in this collective rally attacked the food chain. The branch was attacked.
He said that the people who attacked KFC belong to different areas of Mirpur city and majority of them are young people.
Asked whether any religious organization was involved in the attack, Commissioner Mirpur said that no religious organization has yet claimed responsibility. At the same time, he said that the people who attacked did not belong to any specific organization.
The building in which the KFC branch is located is owned by former minister Chaudhry Saeed Ahmed. Speaking to Independent Urdu, he said that he had received information about a week ago about the planning of a raid on the branch by the evil elements in the city.
According to Chaudhry Saeed Ahmed: ‘The attackers of the branch had a meeting a week ago at a secret location in which they planned to attack KFC, which was videotaped.’
According to Chaudhry Saeed, when the video reached him, he handed it over to the police and asked them to take steps to ensure the security of the branch.
Apart from this, according to Chaudhry Saeed, he also submitted a written request to the Deputy Commissioner Mirpur requesting the district administration and law enforcement agencies to deal with the miscreants and ensure the security of the KFC branch.
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Chaudhry Saeed said that ‘despite giving advance notice, security could not be provided to their building and branch by the administration and police, after which this unfortunate incident took place.’
He further informed that more than 140 employees work in three shifts in KFC branch, Kotli Road and all the staff are local people. Apart from this, bread, chicken and other products are also bought at the local level to provide employment resources to the local people.
Chaudhry Saeed said that the people who attacked the KFC branch not only ransacked the branch but also tortured the staff there. Several of their employees are injured and the building and a large part of the KFC branch have been destroyed in the fire.
Since October 7, 2023, many brands have announced a worldwide boycott against the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza, including the food chain KFC and McDonald’s.
A similar incident took place on March 14, when a KFC franchise was forcibly closed under the leadership of a mayor in Mardan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for allegedly supporting Israel.
In a meeting of the district council of Mardan, Mayor Sakhalullah Mayar presented a resolution to close down KFC Mardan, which was unanimously approved, after which the local franchisee of KFC was attacked after the protestors broke the fast. reached and chained the door.
Bakhtullah told Independent Urdu at the time: ‘We symbolically chained the doors of KFC.’
He added that he is not in favor of closing down anyone’s business, but ‘we want to spread awareness among the public so that they announce a boycott of Israeli products.’
KFC was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders of America, who according to the University of Houston has more than 5,000 branches in the United States and 25,000 branches in 145 countries around the world.
KFC entered Pakistan in 1997 and today has 128 branches in 37 cities of the country.
According to the Ministry of Health of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, more than 32,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7.
In addition, millions of people are displaced and living in camps and are on the brink of starvation due to lack of access to aid.
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2024-05-07 12:37:05