An American clothing and apparel company, Americana Pipedream, is selling Pakistani sneakers in the United States (US). It is marketing the shoes as the “Taliban’s Favorite.”
The sneakers are, in fact, made in Pakistan by the leading shoe manufacturer, Servis. Americana Pipedream recently posted an advertisement mentioning that Servis started during World War II to produce boots for the British Military.
Servis has since scaled its business to produce a variety of shoes, including the White Cheetah high-top sneakers, which are said to be a favorite of the Afghan Taliban.
The narrator in the advertisement goes on to say that US troops were ordered to be wary of anyone wearing White Cheetah high-tops during NATO’s invasion of Afghanistan, as they were most likely Taliban fighters.
While some may dismiss Americana Pipedream’s claim as a savvy marketing tactic targeting US consumers, evidence from a New York Times article in January 2021 lends some weight to the claim.
The article featured a photo of Afghan Taliban members wearing the exact Pakistan-made sneakers, with the caption “Members of the Taliban wearing Cheetahs, a sneaker made in Pakistan.”
The same high-tops are also available on the official Servis website in Pakistan. Pakistani businessman Faizan Siddiqui commented on social media platform X that Servis should have trademarked its name and domain, as it could have benefited from exporting these shoes and capturing the market.
