Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has warned on Thursday that unaddressed youth grievances could lead to widespread disruption, referring to young people as “cockroaches” while drawing a parallel to recent Gen-Z protests in India.
“If these ‘cockroaches’ get united, they can turn everything upside down,” Naqvi remarked, referencing a label associated with the youth-led Indian Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement.
He noted that offering financial allowances or devices to young people fails to satisfy them, stating that the youth require merit-based job opportunities and systemic corrections.
“We are not able to give the youth that,” the interior minister admitted.
Naqvi maintained that Pakistan’s current administrative structure has collapsed and can no longer address national challenges, advocating for structural changes including new administrative units.
Speaking at the first Pakistan Economic Summit in Islamabad, Naqvi criticized the existing setup.
“The system we are living under has collapsed. You have been dragging this system on for 70 years, and while we all want democracy, there are many forms within democracy. Problems cannot be solved through the current dispensation,” he observed.
He asserted that administrative reform requires public involvement to take effect.
“If this system continues, we will still be sitting here a decade from now discussing the same issues. The only solution is to take [the matter of] administrative units, provinces or whatever you may call it, to the public,” he stated.
The minister pointed out that the current structure fails to provide basic necessities to citizens.
“All those who are part of the current political system and fund it are present here. Not everything in this system is bad, but the common man needs the provision of basic services and facilities, which are not delivered,” Naqvi expressed.
He stated that legal relief remains inaccessible despite new judicial forums, adding that administrative authority must reach local levels for citizens to secure justice.
Regarding the prime minister’s schedule, Naqvi noted that “working for 18 hours a day amounts to firefighting and unless you fix the basics of this country in the democratic spirit, it will continue functioning as it has for 70 years.”
He warned about the country’s debt situation, explaining that continuous borrowing without structural changes will worsen economic conditions.
“No matter how many seminars you conduct, the only solution is that political parties sit across the table and set aside their political differences in favour of Pakistan’s national interest,” Naqvi added.
