Some absent for a month: Munir's aide Naqvi lectures after PM Sharif's foreign trip

Pakistan Interior Minister and Asim Munir's aide, Mohsin Naqvi, lectured leaders on accountability, saying some leaders were absent from their offices for a month. Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif, who returned from a weeks-long trip to the US and the UK, was in the audience. Naqvi's remarks, and his apparent contrast with an unnamed tireless official, come as Pakistan's balance of power tilts further towards Asim Munir and away from the civilian government.Mohsin Naqvi, who is not an elected lawmaker, was inducted into Shehbaz Sharif's Cabinet after being appointed to the Senate. (File)New Delhi,Oct 7, 2026 14:37 ISTIn a parliamentary democracy, an interior or home minister serves in a Cabinet headed by the prime minister and remains politically subordinate to the head of government. But Pakistan's democracy has rarely worked quite by the textbook, especially when Rawalpindi begins casting a shadow over Islamabad.With Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the audience, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday appeared to take a remarkable swipe at "an elected leader for staying away from office for a month". Incidentally, Sharif appeared at the Islamabad event just days after returning from a two-week trip to the UK and the US.Speaking at an event in Islamabad, Naqvi contrasted the unnamed elected representative with another person who, he said, was working without even taking an hour's break.The remarks by Naqvi, the blue-eyed boy of Pakistan's de-facto ruler Asim Munir, have drawn considerable attention and surprise, with Pakistan watchers asking the familiar question. Who's really running the show? Naqvi is widely seen as close to Asim Munir, whose influence over Pakistan's civilian and security apparatus has grown since 2022. In India, Naqvi is known as "trophy chor", for not handing over the Indian cricket team the Asia Cup trophy in 2025. Naqvi did not name Shehbaz while referring to the elected representative, nor did he name Munir while talking about the person working without an hour's break.Naqvi's remarks come at an especially fraught moment for Pakistan. Thousands of supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan are on the streets demanding his release, while the hybrid regime is battling rising insurgency in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. While analysts have long described Pakistan's military as the ultimate arbiter of the country's politics, the balance of power has tilted even further in favour of the fauj under Munir. Also, there's a buzz that Islamabad is mulling imposing Governor's Rule in PTI-ruled Khyber Pakhtunwa, the Pathan turf. On July 30, Naqvi had declared that Pakistan's existing governance system had "collapsed" and was incapable of solving the country's problems.WHERE ARE THEY SPENDING THEIR TIME? ASKS NAQVINaqvi's extraordinary remarks came at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kashmir Chowk Underpass in Islamabad on Tuesday, an event also attended by PM Shehbaz Sharif.The Pakistani capital is preparing for the SCO summit, due in August 2027, with a focus on beautifying and sprucing up Islamabad. At the event, Naqvi turned what was ostensibly a development programme into a lecture on the accountability of elected representatives.Mind you, Naqvi isn't elected. He was paradropped into Sharif's Cabinet by the military establishment as its man, experts say."We are all answerable to the people. They have to see only one thing, whether their elected representatives are devoting their every minute to them, or are they devoting it to negative politics," Naqvi said. Then he drew the contrast that set political tongues wagging."They see one thing, that on one side there is an elected representative, who is not going to the office for a month, and is not attending a single meeting. And on the other hand, there is a person who is not leaving even an hour's gap, and is working for you," he said. A video of the lecture by Naqvi was aired by Pakistan's Hum TV."I would like to request the public to consider these things, the people you elect, where they are spending their time," Naqvi added.Mirza Shahzad Akbar, a former aide to Imran Khan, said, Naqvi had given Shehbaz Sharif "that treatment" in public. "It's true that Shehbaz Sharif has returned after a month, but those eyeing his seat shouldn't have done this to that elected man in such a full gathering," he posted on X.Shehbaz Sharif himself addressed the ceremony and, in fact, praised Naqvi and his team for planning to complete the underpass within a month.WHY NAQVI'S WORDS MATTER IN PAKISTANMohsin Naqvi isn't an ordinary member of Shehbaz Sharif's Cabinet. The former journalist and caretaker Punjab chief minister is now Pakistan's interior minister as well as chairman of the all-important Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). He is widely viewed in Islamabad as one of Munir's closest allies and has accompanied the Field Marshal on important foreign-policy missions, including Munir's August visit to Iran.This relationship makes Naqvi's public interventions significant. In July, Naqvi created a political storm by declaring that Pakistan's governance system had "collapsed" and calling for sweeping administrative changes. The comments prompted questions within the ruling establishment itself about what exactly the interior minister was signalling.Pakistan has formally remained under civilian rule since Pervez Musharraf's military era ended in 2008, but the army has continued to exercise enormous influence over national security and politics. The establishment has not even spared banking, transport and agriculture. It means business and it's doing that.That balance between the civilian and military establishments has tilted towards the fauj under Munir. Imran Khan, once seen as enjoying the establishment's backing, fell out with the military before his removal in 2022. His arrest the following year triggered riots and attacks on military installations, followed by mass arrests and military trials of civilians. Khan remains imprisoned, while his party continues to confront both the civilian government and the establishment.Munir, meanwhile, has emerged as a visible player beyond traditional military affairs. He met the Iranians even as he sat down for a meeting with US President Donald Trump. Naqvi has repeatedly appeared alongside him on sensitive assignments. These have strengthened the perception that the interior minister enjoys an unusual proximity to Rawalpindi.So, in Pakistan's civil-military equation, an interior minister lecturing elected representatives about "disappearing for a month", with the prime minister right there, could be a sign of what lies ahead for the Islamic Republic.- Ends(Written by: Sushim Mukul)