Video Shows IBA Karachi Students Boycotting Coca-Cola Over Gaza Conflict

The students of a famous institute in Pakistan's Karachi reportedly boycotted multinational company and beverage major Coca-Cola. A video has appeared on social media platforms that purportedly shows the students of the prestigious management institute holding placards and walking out of the recruitment drive when an official of the company starts speaking. Several Pakistani journalists shared the clip on X and said the students boycotted the placement drive to show their support for the Palestinian cause. However, the video has led to a huge debate on social media.

The video does not show the faces of any of the students or the officials, they are blurred throughout. The setting, however, appears to be that of an auditorium.

Students from IBA Karachi, Pakistan, walked out from Coca-Cola recruitment drive. ?#Bycott pic.twitter.com/DwEX3OIGwW

NDTV cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video that has gone viral on social media.

In the clip, some students can be seen holding posters while walking out of the auditorium as a person speaks on the stage.

The video first appeared on March 27, and since then has been shared by several users, accumulating millions of views.

"Students at IBA Karachi, Pakistan sent a powerful message today by walking out of a Coca-Cola partnered company's recruitment drive in protest of the ongoing violence in Gaza," said one user.

The war began when Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. After the attack, Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas from Gaza.

Pakistan, typically a harsh critic of Israel, initially took a cautious approach with interim Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar posted on X that he was "heartbroken" by the violence.

On Saturday, President Asif Ali Zardari urged the international community to make efforts for a free flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza and protection of Palestinian civilians amid ongoing Israeli strikes.

The comments came during President Zardari's meeting with Palestine's Ambassador to Pakistan, Ahmed Jawad Rabei, in capital Islamabad.

During the meeting, the Pakistan president promised further relief assistance for the Palestinian people, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported.