‘Pizza gate’: Why Pakistan’s Khawaja Asif is being trolled for inaugurating a pizza outlet

Red carpet, camera rolls, ribbon cut and Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif courts another controversy. This time, it’s not his embarrassing diplomatic statement but a high-profile event he attended that became a source of mockery.

Accompanied by other dignitaries, Asif walked in confidently to inaugurate what was presented as a new Pizza Hut outlet in the Sialkot cantonment area recently. Everything went on smoothly until the official Pizza Hut franchise in Pakistan stepped in and declared that it had nothing to do with it.

Since then, social media has been flooded with memes and sarcastic commentary about how a senior federal minister can inaugurate something without verifying its authenticity.

We take a look.

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Asif inaugurates ‘fake Pizza Hut’ outlet

On Tuesday, Asif, Pakistan’s ever-so-controversial minister, confidently cut the ribbon of a “Pizza Hut” outlet. People gathered for the event, where photos and videos from the ceremony were taken, in which Asif can be seen smiling for the cameras at the formal ceremony in Sialkot. Clips and images quickly went viral online, and then came public humiliation.

However, Asif’s happiness was short-lived as the American multinational restaurant chain waded into the matter, declaring the outlet inaugurated by the defence minister as “unauthorised and fraudulent”.

Soon, Pakistan’s senior minister  became the subject of online ridicule, with social media users noting that despite the outlet’s well-known red roof logo resembling a real Pizza Hut, the Sialkot branch was missing from Pizza Hut Pakistan’s official store list.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif inaugurates a fake Pizza Hut in Sialkot. pic.twitter.com/Us2GAKVDs3

— TRIDENT (@TridentxIN) January 21, 2026

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The real Pizza Hut responds

Soon after the incident, Pizza Hut Pakistan issued a statement disowning the outlet. “Pizza Hut Pakistan informs our valued customers that an unauthorised outlet falsely using the Pizza Hut name and branding has recently opened in Sialkot Cantonment,” the statement said.

“This outlet is not associated with Pizza Hut Pakistan, or Yum! Brands. It does not follow Pizza Hut International recipes, quality protocols, food safety and operational standards,” the statement clarified that the outlet had no legal and operational affiliation with Pizza Hut Pakistan or its parent firm.

Pizza Hut Pakistan, a US-based food chain, added that it has formally “filed a complaint with the relevant authorities to stop the misuse of our trademark and ensure immediate action.”

According to the firm, Pizza Hut Pakistan currently operates 16 authorised stores nationwide — 14 in Lahore and 2 in Islamabad — and the Sialkot outlet is not among them. The company also advised its customers to verify official locations through its authorised channels before visiting.

“Dumb boomers, fake minister, fake outlet”

Netzines, especially Pakistanis, went all gun-blazing against Asif. An angry Pakistani, Umair Khan, wrote on X, “Khawaja Asif, the so-called Defence Minister, ends up inaugurating a fake Pizza Hut franchise in Sialkot. Pizza Hut issued a statement calling the franchise a fraud. These dumb boomers imposed on us.”

Khawaja Asif, the so-called Defence Minister, ends up inaugurating a fake Pizza Hut franchise in Sialkot.

Pizza Hut issued a statement calling the franchise a fraud.

These are the dumb boomers imposed on us. pic.twitter.com/Q77qLX3ekE

— MD Umair Khan (@MDUmairKh) January 20, 2026

Another person, Saima, blasted Asif, “Fake minister, fake pizza outlet.”

Fake minister, fake pizza outlet

— SaimaSH 🇵🇰🇨🇦 (@SaimaSHussain) January 20, 2026

Another angry Pakistani mocked on X, “Kuch asli baki reh geya hy ya nahi is soobay main? Ajeeb vahiyat log nafiz hain hum per (Is there any real thing left anymore in Pakistan? We have been bestowed with weird and useless folks?)

Kuch asli baki reh geya hy ya nahi is soobay main? ajeeb vahiyat loog nafiz hain hum per.

— انتہائی عقلمند پٹواری (@manopatano) January 20, 2026

The revelation further snowballed into a social media storm.

Another comment read, “Only in Pakistan can a defence minister proudly inaugurate a fake Pizza Hut. Khawaja Asif cut the ribbon, smiled for the cameras, and walked away — only for the brand to later declare the outlet unauthorised. No one can parody this level of incompetence.”

“Defence minister of Pakistan Khwaja asif inaugurated a fake outlet of Pizza Hut. Ye mulk nahi mazak hai,” one user joked.

Defence minister of Pakistan Khwaja asif inaugurated a fake outlet of Pizza Hut. Ye mulk nahi mazak hai. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/rqUUZsheMd

— Ankit Jain (@indiantweeter) January 20, 2026

Khawaja Asif’s history of embarrassing moments

This is not the first time that Pakistan’s high-profile minister has been brutally trolled. During Operation Sindoor last year in May, Asif’s statements on global platforms were ridiculed. At one point, he declared, “We didn’t intercept Indian drones because we didn’t want to leak our locations.”

He was also schooled by CNN anchor Becky Anderson on air. When Anderson asked for the evidence to support the assertion that Pakistan downed five Indian fighter jets, during air strikes on terrorist camps, Asif asserted, “It’s all over social media, on Indian social media, not on our social media. The debris of these jets fell in Kashmir.”

Now, this ‘Pizza-gate’ marks another awkward episode for Pakistan’s senior minister.

With inputs from agencies