Islamabad: Mysterious banners sprang up across 13 major cities of Pakistan urging Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif to impose martial law in the country and form a government of technocrats, giving strength to the view that something might be cooking up.
A little-known party named ‘Move on Pakistan’ put up banners and posters on major roads of Karachi saying: “Khuda ke liye ab aajao” (For God’s sake, take over).
Interestingly, the banners sprang up in the 13 cities, even in cantonment areas, despite the presence of several checkpoints and extra security.
The banners have been put up in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Hyderabad, etc request he army chief to reconsider his retirement plan due in November.
In the beginning of the year, the same party, about which little was known back then, launched a similar campaign demanding an extension of the COAS’ tenure but the message is quite ominous this time around.
A banner hanging at a traffic intersection on the road between the Chief Ministers House and the Rangers headquarters in Karachi reads: 'Janay ki baatain hui puraani, Khuda k liye ab ajao (Talks of leaving are now old; for God's sake now come)'.
The chief central organizer of the party, Ali Hashmi told Daily Pakistan that this new campaign was a continuation of their previous campaign demanding an extension in Raheel Sharif’s tenure.
He said that the Pakistani people were disgruntled by the current political discourse and saw Raheel Sharif as the sole hope for their future.
Hashmi said that the absence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from the country for more than 40 days proved that there was no need of a political government. Those who have been running the country will keep running it.
“We have invited him [Raheel Sharif] to take control of the system,” he explained.
Though five months back the party maintained that it was not inviting the army to take over, this time it said that “there is no choice but to enforce martial law and form a government of technocrats”.
The issue was widely discussed on TV talk shows and on the social media.
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, however, was cautious in making any comment.
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