MaxShimba
JF-Expert Member
- Apr 11, 2008
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When the mobilisation against the US film began, "I knew the tills would start ringing", said the manager at Panaflex printers, housed in a dilapidated building in Rawalpindi, the twin city of Islamabad and headquarters of the military.
"Whenever we have these demonstrations, I make 10 times as much money as normal," he told AFP in a tiny room that stank of ink, as two huge rollers spat out Stars and Stripes.
Sold for between 120 and 1,500 rupees ($1.25 to $16) depending on size and quality, the flags have been snapped up for demonstrations against the film in recent weeks, and Haider watched in delight as his products went up in smoke day after day on the TV news.
The boom in the flag market has accompanied a surge in anti-American feeling in Pakistan, which has been battered and bruised by Taliban violence and US drone strikes since joining Washington's "war on terror" in late 2001.
AFP: US film protests bring boom for Pakistan flag makers
