LAHORE - Key intelligence agencies are investigating the appearance of flex boards and posters in many cities of the country urging army chief to take over, well-placed officials told The Nation yesterday.
What is the purpose of Move on Pakistan party and others to drag army into politics and who planned this campaign that can be damaging for the image of the army are the top two query lines, the officials said.
The party, which managed hanging up of flex boards and posters of army chief in more than a dozen cities across the country, was registered with Election Commission in November 2012. It is led by Mian Kamran – who runs educational institutions in different cities of Punjab and a local newspaper.
The major cities in which this little-known party put up these posters included Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Sargodha.
They read: Janay ki baatain hui puraani, Khuda kay liye ab ajao (The talk of going [retirement] is old [irrelevant]; Come [and seize power] now, for God’s sake!).
Similar posters and banners were found in Larkana (Sindh), Multan and Gujranwala too but the sponsor base-line attributed them to unnamed “Affected People” and not Move on Pakistan party.
Islamabad Secretariat Police Station two days ago filed an FIR against Mian Kamran under different sections for putting up these posters in their precincts.
The Nation made repeated attempts to reach Move on Pakistan chairman Mian Kamran but he was not available for comment.
However, the chief organiser of the party Ali Hashmi, who attended the call at chairman’s cell phone said, “Mr Kamran cannot speak at this moment as he is in consultation with his friends and lawyers for future course of action.” He however added that Kamran had secured a pre-arrest bail in the case registered against him.
Mr Hashmi politely refused to respond any further questions posed by the paper, saying no comment until new strategy is devised by the party chairman.
ISPR DG Lt-Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa through a tweet four days ago had delinked Army with the banners. “Posters with #COAS pic being displayed across various cities; Army or any affiliated organisation have nothing to do with it,” he tweeted.
Mr Hashmi told media in an earlier talk that the goal of his party’s campaign was to suggest the army chief to impose martial law and then form a government of technocrats to be supervised by the COAS.
Civilian intelligence agencies dossiers on Move on Pakistan party said that Mr Kamran came to limelight when he put up similar posters in February this year in Karachi.
On May 10, 2016 Mr Kamran’s party led a rally in his hometown Faisalabad for the same purpose. On May 11, he organised a seminar at Sareena Hotel Islamabad discussing the issue of army’s assuming the power.
