ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and Awam Pakistan Party (APP) chief Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday called for fundamental reforms to the country’s governance structure, arguing that even members of the government had begun acknowledging that the existing system was not working.
Speaking at a press conference, Abbasi referred to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s recent proposal to create new provinces and administrative units, saying it reflected a belated realisation within the government that the country’s governance model had failed. “I am grateful to my interior minister (Naqvi) for acknowledging after four or five years that the country is not running.”
He maintained that such proposals should have been discussed in parliament or the federal cabinet. “It should have been discussed in parliament or the cabinet. The country knows it is not running, but it has now finally dawned on the rulers,” he added.
Referring to the military’s media briefing on Friday, Abbasi said the armed forces’ spokesman had also acknowledged the need for reform, adding that meaningful institutional changes were essential to keep the country functioning.
He; however, argued that vested interests continued to stand in the way of reform. “The country is not being run well and we do not have money, and we are not ready to undertake reforms.”
Warning of worsening economic conditions, the former premier said public debt, government expenditure and the tax burden would continue to rise unless structural reforms were introduced. “Reforms are needed in this country or else the situation will get worse. Your debts, costs and taxes will continue to increase.”
Abbasi argued that merely creating new provinces would not address the country’s underlying problems, insisting that the entire governance system required restructuring.
“After 78 years, we don’t know how to buy flour. Our farmers have been ruined, and today we are even importing wheat by spending precious dollars,” he said, alleging that those in power were more interested in acquiring official vehicles and aircraft than addressing the hardships faced by ordinary citizens.
The APP chief said the country needed substantive rather than cosmetic reforms.
“A new experiment is carried out every year, but what Pakistan truly needs is a change in the system and the establishment of the rule of law.”
Calling for an end to political victimisation, Abbasi said the practice of imprisoning political opponents must come to an end. “If all politicians are corrupt, then who will run the country,” he asked, adding that the country’s two principal stakeholders in governance were accusing one another of wrongdoing.
He said constitutional supremacy and the rule of law were essential for political stability and sustainable economic growth. “Without the rule of law, investment will not come, and without investment there can be no sustainable economic progress,” he said.
Abbasi further claimed that around 8,000 children in the country were living with HIV and criticised the government’s decision to import one million tonnes of wheat despite Pakistan’s agricultural potential. Referring to rising electricity, gas and fuel prices, he said the increasing cost of living had placed an unbearable burden on households. “No other country in the world is in such a condition.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026