Some institutions have become hurdles to performance: Naqvi

Published
6
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi addresses the Pakistan Economic Summit 2026 held in Islamabad on July 30, 2026. — DawnNewsTV
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi addresses the Pakistan Economic Summit 2026 held in Islamabad on July 30, 2026. — DawnNewsTV

LAHORE: The country’s system is in need of a reset, as some departments and institutions have become hurdles to ‘performance’, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Friday.

The security czar, who had whipped up a political storm when he called for the formation of new administrative units in the country a few months ago, urged the business community to support the government’s efforts in this regard.

Mr Naqvi made the remarks while speaking to businessmen in Lahore – reminiscent of his original tirade at the Pakistan Economic Summit in July.

“As far as federal institutions are concerned, we do receive your complaints from time to time. It seems that some departments and institutions have become hurdles in the way of our performance. So whenever possible, we try our best to correct the things,” the minister said.

Revives earlier call for ‘system reset’, seeks support from business community

“I will not speak more on this and I don’t want to go into detail, as there are many things and we achieved many of them. But at this time, this country’s system needs to be reset, and we cannot do that until we have your support,” he reiterated.

He hoped that whenever the system is reset, things will much improve.

The interior minister, who has recently made several whirlwind trips to Iran as part of the country’s efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the ongoing hostilities between Iran and the US, also spoke at length about the neighbouring country’s progress despite decades of sanctions.

In his words, those who hadn’t been to Iran thought of it as a war-torn country, with destruction everywhere. “The people who visited Iran with me returned astonished after seeing the scale of development in a country that has been suffering under sanctions for many years,” he said.

“You name anything – their auto industry is manufacturing everything locally. I agree that export-led growth is necessary for this the country’s [economic uplift], but at the same time, we need to reduce our imports through local manufacturing,” he said, requesting the business community to come up with proposals related to both exports and imports.

He stressed the need to learn from Iran’s economic development. “If they can do this despite sanctions for 30-40 years, we can do much more than them. And it is easy for us,” he maintained.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2026

Opinion

Editorial

State of denial
Updated 18 Oct, 2026

State of denial

If the Taliban regime commits to preventing groups based on its soil from attacking neighbouring states, the process of normalisation and regional integration of Afghanistan can begin.
Suffering in silence
18 Oct, 2026

Suffering in silence

TOO many Pakistani children have nowhere to turn when abused online. An estimated 1.5m internet-using children aged...
Export imperative
18 Oct, 2026

Export imperative

THE government’s efforts to boost Pakistan’s external sector through diversified financing, higher foreign...
No talks
Updated 17 Oct, 2026

No talks

The government should understand that the PTI’s protest march and its reaction to it will look like nothing more than a storm in a teacup.
Strengthening LGs
17 Oct, 2026

Strengthening LGs

THE ECP has done well to refuse to allow the Punjab administration to push the local government elections to April....
Lesser citizens
Updated 17 Oct, 2026

Lesser citizens

Interfaith harmony will prevail when the message to end bias is conveyed from the pulpit, alongside efforts to punish zealotry.