Pakistan’s top management institute IBA Karachi students reject Coca-Cola job offer to support Palestine

In an unusual protest, students at the Pakistan’s premier business management college, Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in Karachi, staged a walkout during a recruitment drive conducted by multinational company Coca-Cola last week.

Students had previously reached out to the administration, urging them to reconsider hosting the recruitment drive due to the company’s perceived complicity in the conflict in Gaza. During the recruitment event, students collectively stood up and left the venue when the company representative began their presentation. Video of the boycott, showing students holding placards and exiting the premises, has gone viral on social media.

Reports indicate that over 90 percent of the students present in the auditorium participated in the protest, leaving the recruiters in an awkward position. The incident has sparked discussions regarding corporate accountability and the ethical implications of business partnerships.

Commenting on the event, Sushant Sareen, a senior fellow at ORF, characterized the students’ actions as emblematic of a concerning trend. He remarked, “Just shows the depths of jihadism to which Pakistan has sunk. Imagine people in IIMA doing something like this – supporting a jihadist terror organisation like HAMAS. There is nothing normal in that country anymore. Anyone who thinks you can have normal relations with them needs serious psych treatment.”

This comes as Pakistan’s economy continues to face severe economic challenges. The country grapples with hyperinflation, mounting foreign debt, a crippled economy, and widespread poverty. The nation is already experiencing a significant increase in the cost of essential kitchen items, such as vegetables, sugar, cooking oil, ghee, meat, eggs, and pulses, ranging from two to three times the usual prices.

For instance, the price of onions has skyrocketed from PKR 150 per kilogram to as high as PKR 300 per kilogram, though some retailers offer a slight reprieve at PKR 250 per kilogram, as per The Express Tribune’s report.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court temporarily halted the prison sentences of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in a case related to state gifts. Chief Justice Aamer Farooq stated that the appeal against their convictions would be scheduled for a hearing following the Eid holidays. Khan and Bibi were previously sentenced to 14 years in prison by an anti-corruption court in Islamabad in the Toshakhana case.