Collapsed governance system in Pakistan: Interior Minister Naqvi bystander witnessing wreckage

Islamabad, Aug 4 (AHN) Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi's recent statement that the country's governance system has collapsed was not a diagnosis but an admission. However, if the current governance system has collapsed, Naqvi has to give a response for it instead of just diagnosing it, a report has detailed.

In his address at the Pakistan Economic Summit on July 30, Naqvi said that Pakistan's current governance system has collapsed and is unable to resolve the issues faced by the country.

"The system we are living under has collapsed. Problems cannot be solved through it," leading Pakistani daily Dawn quoted Naqvi as saying.

Naqvi said that Pakistan will continue to discuss the same issues even after 10 years if this system continues and stressed that a reset was important. He called for talks among political parties to introduce reforms in the current governance system and proposed the creation of new provinces and bringing administrative reforms, Dawn reported.

"What matters is not what Naqvi said. It is who said it. He is not a critic outside the system. He is the Interior Minister, a central figure in the hybrid arrangement that has run Pakistan since April 2022. Najam Sethi has noted that even the DG ISPR now concedes governance has failed. The admission has moved from the op-ed pages into the power structure itself," a report in The Friday Times mentioned.

"That is a serious contradiction. Naqvi is not observing state failure from a distance. His ministry sits at the centre of it. Balochistan remains a battlefield. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continues to bleed from militant attacks and cross-border instability. The former tribal districts are still not integrated into the state. After decades of operations and billions spent, the state still cannot secure or administer these areas. If the model has failed, Naqvi cannot just diagnose it. He has to answer for it," it added.

Naqvi, who spoke about the system's failure while continuing to be part of it, cannot also claim to be a bystander witnessing the wreckage. A government that speaks about the failure of the governance system while still receiving benefits from the arrangement cannot portray itself as the agent of reform.

"So the question answers itself: why has the cabinet not resigned? Why has Naqvi not resigned?", the Friday Times report mentioned.

According to it, if the Pakistani establishment actually thinks that the current governance system has collapsed, it has only two options left: either take responsibility through martial law or give power back to voters by conducting a real election. The current arrangement of government cannot continue; however, a hard state which has no development plan and institutional reform would be more terrible than an inefficient elected government.

Naqvi's remarks come amid protests in Pakistan over the rising cost of living due to inflation and an increase in fuel prices.

In July, members of the transgender community held a protest in Pakistan's Karachi against rising inflation and the recent hike in petroleum prices. They spoke in detail about the problems faced by the transgender community in Karachi as the cost of living has increased due to the hike in prices of fuel and essential commodities, The Express Tribune reported.

Protesters carrying placards and shouting slogans against the government held the protest outside Karachi Press Club and urged the government led by Shehbaz Sharif to reduce the price of essential commodities and fuel. The protesters warned that continued inaction would increase problems for the vulnerable section of society.