ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s political adviser Rana Sanaullah has confirmed that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif has directed party leaders not to respond further to the controversy triggered by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s recent remarks on the state of the country’s governance system, saying the party has serious reservations about both the substance and the tone of Naqvi’s speech.
Speaking on a private television programme, Sanaullah said Naqvi’s speech lacked coherence and context, and that there was strong objection within the party to the manner in which it was delivered.
He said that should the prime minister summon Naqvi, he would certainly appear, noting that Shehbaz Sharif retains full authority to question any member of his cabinet. Sanaullah added that Naqvi had met the prime minister a day earlier, and that he believed the speech was likely discussed in that meeting, with further clarity expected to emerge at the next cabinet meeting.
The PML-N leader said Naqvi himself appeared unclear on what he intended to convey or where his remarks were ultimately headed.
Rana Sanaullah maintained that Pakistan operates under a parliamentary, constitutional system of government that has kept the country intact, and argued that the system itself is not deficient — the shortfall, he said, lies in implementation.
Declaring that “the system has collapsed” achieves nothing, he said; if implemented as designed, the system is capable of delivering.
Sanaullah went on to argue that if the executive, judiciary and legislature each operated within the limits set out by the Constitution, the country’s problems would largely be resolved within a year, an implicit admission or a tacit claim that that something, somewhere, is out of bounds.
He said there was no remedy available if institutions failed to implement the system while simultaneously claiming it does not work.
He further said it had never been established that a “hybrid system” functions well, in an apparent reference to Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s recent comments on the subject.
“Start the change from your own ministry”: Khawaja Asif tells Mohsin Naqvi
On Khawaja Asif’s remarks specifically, Sanaullah said they meant simply that the political leadership and the military should arrive at decisions in consultation with one another, adding that no provision of the Constitution bars such consultation.
He rejected the notion that the military establishment had set any deadline or spoken of creating new administrative units, describing such claims as unfounded, and said talk of the constitutional order being asked to step aside for parallel initiatives was without basis.
