July 12, 2016•Update: July 17, 2016
By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan
Thousands of banners indirectly urging an army takeover of Pakistan’s government have been put up across the country in recent days.
Pictures of army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif and slogans supporting him adorn the banners, which have mostly been placed on heavily-secured roads near government and military offices, according to witnesses and local media, leading to speculation the campaign has the military’s tacit support.
The banners were put up by the obscure Move On Pakistan party, which earlier launched a campaign requesting Sharif reconsider plans to retire in November.
He had rejected calls to extend his term after his popularity was boosted by the perceived success of a military operation against Taliban militants in the country's northwestern tribal areas.
“Though he had categorically announced he would not accept [an] extension in his term, it now seems he has started reconsidering that decision,” Talat Masood, an Islamabad-based defense and political analyst, told Anadolu Agency.
Masood said “certain quarters in the military establishment” who wanted army rule were backing this campaign but others were also opposed to Sharif staying on as it would block their own rise through the military.
Despite U.S. lawmaker John McCain calling for Sharif to stay on, Masood said he did not believe Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif shared that stance.
“The prime minister will not compromise on this issue,” he said. “I don’t think he is going to offer extension to Gen. Raheel Sharif, who no doubt has done a remarkable job in terms of taking on militancy.”
Masood said the imposition of martial law by the military was unlikely.
In a social media post late Tuesday, the army denied any link to the banners and posters. “[The] army or any affiliated organization has nothing to do with posters with the army chief’s pictures being displayed across various cities”, spokesman Lt. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa said on Twitter.
Pakistan has had four military rulers since it was founded in 1947 and the military has maintained influential role in government throughout the country’s history.
Sharif, who was elected in June 2013, was ousted by military takeovers during both of his previous terms as prime minister.
