THIS is with reference to the report ‘Naqvi assails politico upset over not getting KP governorship’ (Oct 17). For decades, Pakistan’s establishment has been facing allegations of political engineering, but this alleged involvement has always been consistently denied. The federal minister’s reported claim that “this politician even relied on the establishment to arrange air tickets for the members of his party” has brought this controversy back into sharp focus.

When a sitting federal minister makes a statement, it carries political weight. For many, it reinforces the long-standing perception that unelected institutions have played a role in political affairs that should be governed by democratic choice. If our political parties depend on ‘outside’ support, whether for logistical arrange-ments, political alliances or access to power, their ideological independence inevitably comes into question. More troubling is the apparent double standards: politicians condemn such influence when it works against them, but they rarely object when they themselves benefit from it.

The minister’s statement is surely not conclusive proof of systematic political interference, but it does demand answers. Who arranged these tickets, under whose authority, and for what purpose? The government and relevant institutions must clarify their role rather than leave the public to draw their own conclusions.

A democracy cannot ever flourish when the crucial boundaries between consti- tutional authority and behind-the-scene influence remain blurred. It just cannot.

Wasif Khaliq Dad
Rawalpindi

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2026