tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post5657988142741125250..comments2024-03-27T15:36:44.737-07:00Comments on Haq's Musings: US "AfPak" Puppets & Corruption on Sesame StreetRiaz Haqhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-12117543248986445862012-06-23T09:38:44.720-07:002012-06-23T09:38:44.720-07:00Here's a Washington Post piece on American fas...Here's a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/american-fast-food-on-the-menu-in-pakistan/2011/07/16/gIQAt6RRVI_story.html" rel="nofollow">Washington Post</a> piece on American fast food restaurant chains in Pakistan:<br /><br /><i>Anti-American sentiment may have reached historic highs in this country, but for many Pakistanis, the indignation does not extend to their bellies.<br /><br />Just over the past few days, Islamabad inaugurated its first Hardee’s restaurant and its first American-style sports bar. In recent months, McDonald’s not only reopened its only restaurant in the capital but also added a home-delivery outlet. Those businesses join existing burger joints and other American fast-food restaurants such as Pizza Hut, KFC and Domino’s Pizza.<br />----------<br />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.<br /><br />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 U.S. 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 has served an average of 5,000 to 6,000 customers a day so far.<br /><br />“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.”<br /><br />Unlike in the United States, fast food here is among the more expensive eating-out options. At 390 Pakistani rupees, or about $4.50, a Big Mac is out of reach for most people. Consequently, many customers are part of Pakistan’s highly educated class and have spent time in the United States, or have at least more favorable opinions of the United States than most of their countrymen.<br />----------<br />But for Mohsin Masud, owner of the brand-new restaurant 3rd Base, security is not a major concern. Masud, who spent time in the United States and Canada, said he opened his sports bar because he couldn’t find good hamburgers in Islamabad. The restaurant, which has a Facebook page, also specializes in steaks and chicken wings. But one standard sports-bar item is conspicuously absent.<br /><br />“The only thing missing is the beer,” Masud said, because it is impossible for Muslims in Pakistan to obtain an alcohol license.</i><br /><br />http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/american-fast-food-on-the-menu-in-pakistan/2011/07/16/gIQAt6RRVI_story.htmlRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.com