Khawaja Asif: In a massive meme-fest movement, an unauthorized Pizza Hut outlet was inaugurated by Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in his hometown of Sialkot.
Khawaja Asif-Pizza Hut Inauguration, What Went Wrong?
What was supposed to be a high-profile publicity ceremony of ribbon-cutting soon made Asif a laughing stock on social media.
Pizza Hut issued a stinging public disclaimer saying that the outlet was not authorized by it and is fake.
The proposed source of local pride and commercial development soon became a meme-fest for Pakistanis who laughed at the stupidity of their defence minister.
Pizza Hut Disclaimer
Pizza Hut went on to remark that it had filed a police complaint with the authorities about the abuse of its branding and trademark.
Pizza Hut added the outlet is not associated with Pizza Hut Pakistan, or Yum! Brands. It went on to add that the fake outlet does not follow Pizza Hut’s quality protocols, international recipes and food safety & operational standards. The American multinational company added it has only 16 outlets in the country out of which 2 are in Islamabad and 14 in Lahore.
Social Media Reactions
Social media users were amazed at how a federal minister of the Pakistani government and his team conducted no background check whatsoever before the public engagement was planned and executed at a business establishment.
A user commented, “In a country of ‘unauthentic’ mandates, even the pizzas are unauthorized.” Another user commented, “What else could anyone have expected from a banana republic?” Many users commented that corruption is so rampant in Pakistan that now even Pizza Hut outlets are not safe.
Another user commented, “Fake minister, fake pizza outlet”. One user wrote, “Is there anything real left in Pakistan or has everything already been looted by these good-for-nothing government and army officials?”
