Islamabad, August 2, 2026: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has urged Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to initiate governance reforms through the Interior Ministry and ensure implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP), saying the entire nation would support meaningful institutional change.
The remarks came in response to Mohsin Naqvi’s recent statement that Pakistan’s governance system had “collapsed” and was no longer capable of addressing the country’s growing challenges.
In a post on X on Saturday, Khawaja Asif said he largely agreed with the interior minister’s assessment but stressed that institutional reforms should be pursued through constitutional and parliamentary mechanisms.
Naqvi had earlier told the Pakistan Economic Summit in Islamabad that Pakistan would continue facing the same governance challenges over the next decade unless comprehensive administrative reforms were introduced.
Reacting to those remarks, the defence minister said both the federal cabinet and parliament were the appropriate forums to initiate such reforms, noting that Naqvi was a member of both institutions.
He said strengthening the governance system through constitutional processes would reinforce state institutions and ensure sustainable reforms.
Khawaja Asif further observed that Pakistan’s institutional evolution had long remained influenced by personal and group interests, adding that the country needed to free its governance structure from such constraints.
He also questioned the effectiveness of raising major governance issues before the business community instead of discussing them within the country’s constitutional institutions.
The defence minister pointed out that Mohsin Naqvi had held some of the country’s most influential public offices over the past three-and-a-half years and therefore had sufficient opportunity to initiate reforms.
“Better late than never,” he remarked.
Referring to the National Action Plan (NAP), Khawaja Asif cited recent comments by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, who highlighted the implementation status of the plan.
He said the armed forces were fulfilling their assigned responsibilities under the NAP through significant sacrifices, while the remaining points, which primarily fall under the Interior Ministry’s mandate, still required implementation.
The defence minister called on Mohsin Naqvi to begin systemic reforms by ensuring full implementation of the National Action Plan and introducing administrative improvements within the Interior Ministry.
He said such measures would receive support not only from the business community but from the entire nation.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Senator Rana Sanaullah also criticised Naqvi’s remarks, saying those who had benefited from the existing system were now questioning its effectiveness.
Addressing a public gathering in Hattian Bala, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Sanaullah said some individuals had achieved positions of influence within three-and-a-half years that others took decades to attain, yet were now claiming the governance system could no longer function.
He defended Pakistan’s parliamentary democratic system, maintaining that any debate on institutional reforms should take place through democratic and constitutional forums rather than in a manner that undermines the parliamentary framework.
