Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has delivered a blunt assessment of the country’s political and administrative system, declaring that Pakistan’s governance model has “collapsed” and warning that a united generation of frustrated young people could “overturn everything.” Speaking at the Pakistan Economic Summit in Islamabad, Naqvi said repeated attempts to fix problems within the existing system had failed, arguing that meaningful structural reforms were now essential.
‘The System Has Collapsed’
Addressing the gathering, Naqvi said Pakistan could not continue relying on the same governance framework if it hoped to overcome its economic and political challenges. “Whether you agree or not, the system we have been living under has collapsed,” he said, adding that without fundamental reforms, the country would still be debating the same issues a decade from now. He advocated creating new administrative units or provinces, decentralising governance and building political consensus on constitutional reforms to give local communities greater ownership and allow new leadership to emerge.
Warning Over Frustrated Youth
Naqvi also spoke about growing dissatisfaction among Pakistan’s youth, saying young people were seeking merit-based employment and equal opportunities rather than subsidies or government handouts. “We are unable to give our youth what they want. Now, whether you call that young person a youth, a cockroach, or anything else… if these cockroaches unite, they can overturn everything,” he said. His reference to “cockroaches” echoed the term that gained prominence during India’s recent student-led protests, where participants associated with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) embraced the label while campaigning against exam irregularities and demanding education reforms. Naqvi said efforts by Pakistan’s military leadership alone would not be enough to resolve the country’s deep-rooted challenges unless political leaders undertook institutional reforms. He pointed to mounting public debt, unemployment, economic hardship and persistent security concerns in regions including Balochistan, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as evidence that the existing governance structure requires urgent change. Naqvi’s remarks come amid increasing public debate over youth participation in politics and governance. Reports have also highlighted the emergence of a social media-driven “Cockroach Party Pakistan” movement, which focuses on issues such as employment, anti-corruption measures, governance reforms and accountability. His comments have attracted attention both within Pakistan and abroad, particularly for linking the country’s growing youth frustration with the now widely recognised “cockroach” terminology that first gained traction during student protests in India.
