Khawaja Asif says Mohsin Naqvi is ‘most powerful minister’ in government

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is the “most powerful minister” in the federal cabinet, the defence minister has said, adding that he is not answerable to the prime minister on various topics.

In a TV interview, Asif remarked that while Naqvi was the interior minister, he did not seem to be fully incorporated into the cabinet structure. “I have seen Naqvi in only two or three cabinet meetings,” he said.

The defence minister also stated Naqvi had attended Parliament only a handful of times, adding that if the interior minister himself was voicing displeasure with the current system, “then perhaps we should all go home”.

Asif’s words followed Naqvi’s previous comments that Pakistan’s governance system had grown too weak to adequately deal with the country’s difficulties. The interior minister has cautioned that if the current structure remains in place the country could still be dealing with the same challenges ten years down the line.

Naqvi also said that for better governance and for the sake of long-term growth of the country, it has now become necessary to create new administrative divisions or provinces. He said the present structure has become ineffective.