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Today's Paper | May 25, 2024

Updated 10 Oct, 2016 04:20pm

Move On Pakistan party banners make another appearance on Karachi's streets

KARACHI: Move On Pakistan party banners depicting Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif have made another appearance on the streets of the metropolis, BBC Urdu reported on Monday.

The banners showcase Gen Raheel followed by a caption reading "Nothing else... Only Pakistan". Two soldiers who were killed in a cross-border exchange of fire along the Line of Control are also pictured on the banners, along with party chief Mohammad Kamran.

Speaking to BBC Urdu, Kamran said, "The purpose of these banners is to show solidarity with the Pak Army. We have no political motive other than to show that in case of any Indian aggression, the whole of Pakistan stands behind our army."

He added:"These banners have only been displayed in Karachi."

"There should be a freedom of expression in democracy and these banners are no crime. I have not done anything illegal... Anyone who fights for the integrity of Pakistan will also be displayed on the banners," he said.

The little-known political party of Punjab put up banners in 13 cities across the country in July with its leaders urging Gen Raheel to impose martial law and form a government of technocrats.

The banners were put up in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Hyderabad, etc, and unlike its earlier campaign requesting the army chief to reconsider his retirement plan due in November, the message was quite ominous.

But after this line drew a sharp reaction from the media and other institutions, and Kamran was arrested following the campaign, the party has been at pains to distance itself from these claims.

The Move on Pakistan party — which has little grass-root support — has been registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan for the past three years and Faisalabad-based businessman, Mohammad Kamran, is its chairman. He runs a number of schools and ‘businesses’ in Faisalabad, Sargodha and Lahore.

The party came into the spotlight in February 2016 when it put up posters and banners across the country asking the army chief not to retire and “help in eradicating terrorism and corruption”.

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