News Desk
ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said he broadly agrees with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s concerns about the state of the system, but argued that meaningful reforms should be pursued through parliament and the cabinet rather than by bypassing these institutions.
In a statement, Asif said Naqvi had held powerful positions within the system for around three and a half years and could have raised the issue of systemic change or made progress towards reforms during that period.
“Better late than never,” Asif said, while acknowledging Naqvi’s recent comments about the condition of the system.
The defence minister described Naqvi as “himself a power house” and said that if the objective was to strengthen the system and introduce fundamental changes, parliament was the appropriate forum because Naqvi was also a member of the legislature.
He said the matter could also be discussed in the cabinet, adding that reforms pursued through these institutions would strengthen both the system and the relevant state bodies while ensuring that any major changes followed a constitutional process.
Asif said the country’s institutional evolution had for decades remained influenced by group and personal interests and needed to be freed from such considerations.
He also criticised Naqvi for what he described as infrequent attendance at parliamentary and cabinet meetings. Asif said sidelining these institutions and instead inviting members of the business community to discuss major systemic issues weakened the impact of such initiatives.
The defence minister also referred to the 13-point National Action Plan discussed by the Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations a day earlier. He said the one point assigned to the armed forces was being implemented, with personnel making sacrifices in the process, while the remaining 12 points fell under the Interior Ministry and had not been implemented.
Asif urged Naqvi to begin his proposed systemic reforms by ensuring implementation of the National Action Plan and said the process should start within his own ministry.
He added that the issue was not limited to the business community, saying the entire nation would support genuine efforts to strengthen the system.
#KhawajaAsif #MohsinNaqvi #PakistanPolitics #Parliament #Cabinet #NationalActionPlan #PoliticalReforms #SystemReforms #Pakistan #Islamabad #DefenceMinister #InteriorMinistry #BreakingNews #PakistanNews
