ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday urged Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to begin governance reforms within his ministry and pursue wider changes through Parliament and the federal cabinet.
In an Aug. 1 post on X, Asif said he broadly agreed with Naqvi’s assessment that Pakistan’s governance system had “collapsed.” He said institutional change should proceed through constitutional channels, noting that Naqvi served in both Parliament and the cabinet.
Naqvi made the remarks at the Pakistan Economic Summit 2026 in Islamabad on July 30. He warned that Pakistan would face the same problems for another decade without structural reform and called for decentralisation through the creation of additional administrative units or provinces.
Khawaja Asif said Naqvi had held powerful positions for three-and-a-half years and could have acted earlier, adding, “Better late than never.” He argued that constitutional reform would help free state institutions from the influence of group and personal interests.
Referring to the National Action Plan (NAP), Asif said Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry had highlighted 13 points. Asif claimed the armed forces were implementing one point while the remaining 12 fell to the Interior Ministry.
Read: Mohsin Naqvi Says Pakistan’s Political System Has Failed
A separate account of Chaudhry’s July 31 briefing quoted him describing NAP as a 14-point agenda.
Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Senator Rana Sanaullah separately criticised Naqvi’s remarks during a public meeting in Hattian Bala, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. He defended Pakistan’s parliamentary system and said reform concerns should be debated through democratic institutions.
