Anti-American sentiment may have reached historic highs in Pakistan, but for many Pakistanis, the indignation does not extend to their bellies, says The Washington Post.
The newspaper mentions that many US food chains are extending their network in the country.
The proliferation of American food options in Islamabad and elsewhere in Pakistan stands in stark contrast to the growing resentment most Pakistanis feel toward the United States. According to an opinion survey released last month by the Pew Research Center, only 12 percent of Pakistanis have a favourable opinion of the United States, and 69 percent see it as more of an enemy than a partner. Approval ratings are at their lowest point since 2002, according to the Washington-based organisation.
Mohammad Nouman, a businessman from Peshawar, said he liked to stop by McDonald’s whenever he came to Islamabad because his daughters enjoyed the food and the attached playground. He said he had misgivings about the US policy in the region, but those feelings were not incompatible with visits to McDonald’s.
“I don’t see things like, ‘This is an American brand, so I shouldn’t go there,” he said. After opening its first Pakistani restaurant in Lahore in 1998, McDonald’s now counts 21 outlets across the country. Hardee’s launched the first of its four restaurants in Pakistan a year and a half ago and plans to open a total of 25 within five years, says The Washington Post. Nowhere is Pakistanis’ love of American fast food more apparent these days than at the newest Hardee’s. A few days after a much-hyped opening attended by US Ambassador Cameron Munter and his wife, lines of customers still extended outside the doors. Nawaz Sadiq, manager for development and training at Hardee’s, said the outlet had served an average of 5,000 to 6,000 customers a day so far.
“The Pakistani market is very much brand-conscious,” Sadiq said. “Pakistani people are against America because of its policies, but at the same time, people want quality.”
Unlike in the United States, the newspaper says, fast food here is among the more expensive eating-out options Consequently, many customers are part of Pakistan’s highly educated class and have spent time in the United States, or have at least more favourable opinions of the United States than most of their countrymen. That has not prevented U.S. chains from being the target of attacks. Bomb blasts have hit KFC and McDonald’s outlets in Karachi in recent years, and armed guards and metal detectors are standard at fast-food restaurants.
