‘Liar, Loser, Fraud’: Why billboard at Times Square shamed Asim Munir and Shehbaz Sharif

Times Square protest: A public humiliation on the world stage

The protest wasn’t subtle. It was loud, direct, and ruthless in its messaging – and it couldn’t have come at a more embarrassing time for Pakistan’s ruling establishment. The billboard’s messages did not mince words.

General Asim Munir, currently hailed within Pakistan's elite circles as a "Field Marshal," was labelled a “Fraud Marshal,” “liar,” and “loser.” One message taunted: “Good work makes you stand tall, not fake titles” – a scathing reference to Munir’s recent and controversial elevation to Pakistan’s highest military rank, viewed by many as a cosmetic upgrade to consolidate power.

Another message challenged Munir to take a polygraph test - “Liar. Why don’t you also take a polygraph test” – a searing reference to the state’s attempts to discredit Imran Khan through arbitrary investigations and character assassinations, including calls for lie detector tests.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif fared no better. A rotating digital graphic labelled the trio – Munir, Zardari, and Sharif – as “The deceiver and his two crooks.” Meanwhile, Nawaz Sharif was slammed as a power-hungry opportunist “motivated solely by self-interest.”

In a place where global brands compete for attention, Pakistan’s political establishment found itself grotesquely spotlighted – not for diplomatic achievements or global leadership, but for what many see as systemic rot and authoritarian overreach.

The Khan-Munir rift

The bitterness between Imran Khan and General Asim Munir lies at the very core of this crisis. Once seen as the military’s preferred candidate, Khan quickly became its most dangerous adversary when he began to openly challenge the army’s decades-long stranglehold over Pakistan’s democracy.

Munir, who replaced General Qamar Javed Bajwa as army chief, was instrumental in orchestrating what PTI alleges was a regime change operation against Khan in 2022. Since then, Khan’s political downfall, marked by court cases, media censorship, and eventually his imprisonment, has been widely seen as a military-led vendetta, aimed at silencing the only mass political leader in Pakistan capable of mobilizing millions against the status quo.

Khan’s supporters argue that Munir has weaponized state institutions to eliminate political opposition, suppress dissent, and entrench himself as the de facto ruler of the country, with Shehbaz Sharif and Zardari serving as obedient civilian facades.

Khan’s refusal to bow, even from behind bars, has only sharpened the rift. And the digital protest in Times Square reflects that escalating confrontation: a public relations counterstrike designed to expose Munir and his cohorts before the global community.

A symbol of Pakistan’s crumbling state

The Times Square campaign is more than just a flashy stunt. It is symbolic of the Pakistani diaspora’s growing frustration with the betrayal of democratic values back home and their willingness to challenge the establishment’s narrative on the world stage. It’s a potent sign that Pakistan’s internal dysfunction has spilled into international spaces, with dissent now broadcast on LED screens in global capitals.

While Pakistan struggles with economic collapse, rampant inflation, and political instability, its leadership appears more concerned with silencing opposition than addressing the country’s existential crises. The digital protest shone a glaring light on that misplaced priority.

More importantly, it showed that even outside Pakistan, its power elite cannot escape public accountability.