Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: A mysterious campaign has been launched in Rawalpindi to urge Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif to extend his tenure, which is going to end on 29thNovember 2016 after his retirement. The campaign launched by an unknown ‘Pakistan Ehtsab Party’ left several apprehensions to be redressed.

According to details, a large number of posters containing a uniformed portrait of General Raheel Sharif with an advice for him to extend his ongoing tenure have been pasted on main Muree Road. The poster tried to convey General Sharif that the nation needs you, whereas it also advised him to not handover the country to terrorists and looters.

The Daily Times has learnt that the ‘Pakistan Ehtsab Party’ is not commonly known as there is only one picture of its protest is available, which was held against Raymond Davis in Lahore. Furthermore, there is no registration of ‘Pakistan Ehtsab Party’ with the Election Commission of Pakistan. The party has also avoided mentioning any address, phone number and email on the poster to avoid being traced out.

It is not the first time that such a move has been launched. In the recent year a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) ‘Move on Pakistan’ also launched a similar campaign by holding banners on main roads of the federal capital with the slogan “Jany ki Batain Jany do” when the COAS was categorically declared that he will not take an extension in his service.

The situation become more ambiguous, when the shopkeeper doing their businesses on both sides of Murree Road showed their ignorance as to who pasted these posters on the pillars of Metro Bus Service, whereas sources inside the District Coordination Office’s (DCO) office and City Police Office’s (CPO) office revealed that there was no specific approval by the campaigners in this regard.

Besides the fact that the COAS is enjoying a noble repute among the masses due to his carrier as Chief and because of his rich family background based on sacrifices made by his real brother Major Shabeer Sharif Shaheed and his maternal uncle Raja Aziz Bhatti Shaheed for the nation, the aforementioned campaign brought to the surface the following questions, which should be answered to end whisperings in some concerned quarters.

First, the Constitution of Pakistan 1973 entitles basic rights including freedom of expression to every citizen of Pakistan, in which anybody can express his feelings either by spoken words or written words but in recent case the campaigner is not well known. If the concerned departments will not investigate who is/are behind this campaign, what are his/their motives and on whose behalf he/they launched this campaigns than the door will be wide open for any other person in future as even he can also negatively use the picture of the COAS.

In that case it will be a challenge for those departments, who are completely silent on the issue and enjoying the tune.

Second, the campaigners have provoked the COAS to extend his tenure, which can be treated as a violation of the constitution as the Prime Minister (PM) is the appointing authority of the Army Chief. If anybody wants to further see General Raheel Sharif in the army house then he should launch a campaign to pressurise and influence the PM for extension as legally only he can do this. The law enforcement agencies should hold the responsible persons and ask them why they are instigating the COAS for extension as he is not entitled to do so. Third, the campaigner has requested the COAS to not hand over the country to terrorists and looters. The statement can be interpreted that all the serving generals are incapable and wouldn’t be tackled the menace of terrorism after the retirement of General Raheel Sharif, whereas the campaigner also used word ‘looters’ which means that all other people i.e. politicians, bureaucrats and army officers are corrupt. This point also seeks the attention of relevant authorities requiring of them to take strict action. It is a matter of grave concern that the relevant authorities have failed to curb such unconstitutional drives.