Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif was seen inaugurating what appeared to be a new Pizza Hut restaurant in Sialkot Cantonment on January 21, 2026 in viral videos. However, like most things in Pakistan, the Pizza Hut was ‘fake’.
Asif was seen inaugurating the forged Pizza Hut with much drama, a large audience, decorations and media presence.
As per reports, soon after the Defence Minister’s photos with pomp and fanfare flooded the internet, Pizza Hut Pakistan issued a public disclaimer, stating the outlet was “unauthorised” and “falsely using the Pizza Hut name and branding.” The fake restaurant that Khawaja Asif inaugurated even had the same red theme design and logo branding as the original Pizza Hut.
Pakistani Defence Minister Khwaja Asif is habitual of getting into embarrassing soup. Be it on Fake Claims on Operation Sindoor or Fake Outlets of Pizza Hut.
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) January 21, 2026
Asif is now in news for inaugurating a fake Pizza Hut outlet in Sialkot Cantonment of Pakistan.
Pizza Hut has issued a… pic.twitter.com/QNmM5fZLjB
Pizza Hut added that the restaurant is not affiliated with Yum! Brands, does not follow international recipes, quality, or safety standards, and has filed a trademark complaint with authorities.
Pizza Hut operates only 16 official stores in Pakistan, 14 in Lahore and two in Islamabad, with no presence in Sialkot, the company stated.
Khawaja Asif, who has been a favourite target of Indian meme-makers for years, was greeted with a global meme fest.
The American food chain has added that it has formally filed a complaint with the relevant authorities to stop the misuse of “our trademark and ensure immediate action”.
