• Interior minister says he can’t charge-sheet his own administration
• Says PM, current govt will complete five years in power; those trying to drive wedge between him and premier ‘bound to fail’

ISLAMABAD: A week after assailing what he termed the ‘collapse of the system’ in the country, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi appeared to be in damage control mode on Wednesday, ruling out any change to the existing political setup, and asserting that the current regime would complete its full five-year term.

Speaking to a couple of reporters outside the interior ministry’s offices at the Convention Centre, the interior minister sou­ght to clarify his call for better governance and the need for more administrative units.

When asked whether his remarks about the ‘collapse’ of the system amou­n­ted to a “charge sheet” against the government, Mr Naqvi said that he stood by his statement, maintaining that “the system has been destroyed”, but clarified that he was referring to the country’s “80-year-old system”.

“Even today, I maintain that the system that has been in place for the last 80 years is destroyed, because if it had been functioning, Pakistan would have reached new heights,” he said.

Rejecting the impression that he was targeting the government, the minister said he was part of the administration and “could not issue a charge sheet against it”.

“Had our governance system worked effectively over the decades, Pakis­tan would have achieved far greater economic and inst­i­t­ut­ional progress,” he said.

“If you have a prime min­ister who works 14 to 16 hours a day, and if the cur­rent situation impro­ves, the results will be a thousand times better,” he said.

Elaborating on the achi­evements of the prime mi­n­ister and the incumbent government, the interior minister said that the Federal Board of Reve­nue’s revenue had increa­sed manifold, Pakistan had won a war against India, its diplomatic standing had improved significantly worldwide, and numerous reforms had been introduced.

Mr Naqvi also dismissed speculation about differences with the prime minister as “baseless” and “aimed at creating misunderstandings,” adding that such attempts were “bound to fail”.

The interior minister said he would recommend to the prime minister that the performance of all federal cabinet members be ass­­essed through an independent third-party evaluation, with results made public.

“Such an exercise will identify ministries that are performing effectively and those requiring improvement,” he said.

Mr Naqvi’s original remarks, delivered during a speech at the Pakistan Economic Summit last week, had triggered a fresh debate in political circles, drawing praise and criticism alike from various quarters.

A day after his speech, the military’s spokesperson had also called on political parties to consider an administrative reset to improve governance, arguing that the country’s security and stability depended on adapting its governance structure to the demands of modern times and a growing population.

But while his stance was echoed by the likes of Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Yousaf — and likeminded political groups, prominent among his opponents were the PPP and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, as well as his cabinet colleague Khawaja Asif.

The defence minister, in his reaction, had suggested that the reforms proposed by his colleague should begin from the interior ministry itself. He had also pointed out that Mr Naqvi had held key public offices over the past three-and-a-half years and had “ample opportunity to initiate reforms”.

PM’s aide Rana Sana­ullah had also defended the current system, saying that governance issues should be addressed through constitutional and democratic institutions, not by questioning the entire political framework.

Many observers saw in his remarks an indication that the days of the democratically-elected government may be numbered. PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s recent barbs during the AJK elections, where he insisted that “the clock is ticking on the PML-N government”, were also construed as being hints toward a possible change in the status quo.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2026