The candid admission by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi acknowledging the total collapse of the country’s governance structure marks a watershed moment. For decades, the ruling elite have attempted to mask structural rot with superficial adjustments, dragging along a 70-year-old administrative framework that has long expired. Today, with the administration paralyzed and mounting economic distress fueling deep public resentment manifested in the palpable fear of unorganized, grass-roots youth eruptions often metaphorically referred to as an unstoppable “cockroach” wave. cosmetic measures are no longer just ineffective; they are actively counterproductive. The state can no longer tinker at the edges when the foundation itself is eroding. The current crisis is not merely economic mismanagement or bureaucratic inertia; it is the profound deficit of political legitimacy. When governance lacks a deep-rooted social contract, every policy implementation is met with public skepticism, institutional friction, and civil resistance. Restoring state functionality requires addressing this crisis of legitimacy head-on, ensuring that governance flows from the uncoerced will of the people. Amidst this administrative vacuum, suggestions from within the power corridors to forge a broad-based national consensus bringing all stakeholders together to deliberate on creating new administrative units or provinces merits serious consideration. Good governance cannot be achieved through centralized stagnation. Rationalizing administrative boundaries and empowering local tiers can bridge the widening gap between the citizen and the state. Any such structural reform must be undertaken with absolute political inclusivity, ensuring that no major stakeholder feels alienated or targeted by partisan motives. The intersection of politics and the judiciary remains a central impediment to stability. While routine political matters and high-profile incarcerations such as those involving PTI figures are frequently deferred to the courts with the refrain that “the judiciary will decide”, the reality of political engineering casts a long shadow. The structural engineering of the judicial system, including the establishment of a Federal Constitutional Court alongside the Supreme Court where critical decisions face constant friction and reversal, has done little to inspire public confidence. When judicial independence appears compromised, legal resolutions to political disputes lose moral authority. Political problems inherently demand political ownership and state-level resolution, rather than reliance on a legally fragmented architecture.
Since the recognition of structural failure has emerged from the highest echelons of power, the logical conclusion must be pursued: early, transparent, free, and fair elections. A fresh mandate granted cleanly is the prerequisite to stabilizing the economy, rebuilding fractured state institutions, and averting administrative disintegration. Half-measures and institutional engineering will only buy temporary time at the cost of permanent damage. True statecraft demands stepping back, respecting the constitution in letter and spirit, and returning power to the electorate.
FM Asim Muneer has worked very hard to rehabilitate Pakistan’s falling image internationally, if we do not move in step with him and improve upon governance the damage will be beyond repair. We must cut down our administrative expenditure which has remained out of control. Let us not spoil the image built internationally as peace facilitator that is great honor for the country and it should be maintained under all circumstances.
