ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi called for the creation of new administrative units, saying Pakistan’s current governance system has failed and requires structural reforms to address the country’s longstanding political and economic challenges.
Speaking at Pakistan’s first Economic Summit in Islamabad, Naqvi said the existing system “has collapsed” and would continue to produce the same problems unless fundamental reforms are introduced.
He argued that the country should move toward new administrative units or provinces, adding that the issue should ultimately be decided by the public.
The interior minister said Pakistan’s growing debt burden, governance challenges and demands for merit-based employment from young people require a comprehensive “reset” of the system. He warned that without structural reforms, the country would continue facing the same issues even a decade from now.
Naqvi said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was working long hours to address national issues but described the government’s efforts as largely “firefighting” in the absence of broader institutional reforms. He stressed that all political parties must work together to improve the country’s governance framework.
Speaking informally with reporters later, Naqvi said the efforts of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir would not produce lasting results unless politicians also fixed the country’s governance system.
He added that the field marshal had repeatedly stated he would not allow democracy to be derailed. Naqvi urged the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to work together on reforms, said the current government would complete its constitutional term, and maintained that legal matters involving PTI founder Imran Khan would be decided by the courts.