Banners across Pakistan ask army chief to ‘impose martial law’

TIL Desk/World/Islamabad-A political party in Pakistan has put up banners across the country asking army chief General Raheel Sharif to “impose martial law” and form a “government of technocrats”, a move analysts said strengthened the view that something was cooking up. The banners and hoardings were erected by the ‘Move on Pakistan’ party on Monday, in 13 cities including Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Sargodha and Hyderabad, according to media reports.

Unlike its earlier campaign requesting Raheel to reconsider his retirement due in November, the message is quite ominous this time. A banner hanging at a traffic intersection on the thoroughfare between Chief Minister’s 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 and take over the country).

Ali Hashmi, the central chief organiser of the party, told that “the goal of their campaign was to suggest to the army chief that after imposing martial law, a government of technocrats should be made in Pakistan and Raheel should himself supervise it”.  Pakistan has a history of military interventions and so far faced four martial laws. Last military ruler Pervez Musharraf stepped down from the government in 2008.