Pakistan establishment’s favourite Mohsin Naqvi ruffles feathers in ruling party

Lahore, Apr 16 (PTI) The PML-N, a major party in Pakistan’s ruling dispensation, is unhappy over the military establishment’s decision to appoint its favourite Mohsin Naqvi to two top full-time positions: as the Interior Minister and Pakistan Cricket Board chief.
     Naqvi, on his part, said he will think about relinquishing one of the posts if the ruling coalition asks.
     “The recent surge in terrorism in the country, especially the attack on army personnel and the Chinese engineers in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and controversy over the captaincy of the Pakistan cricket team has put Naqvi’s performance under the spotlight,” a PML-N insider told PTI on Tuesday.
     He said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership was not happy to give both important positions to Naqvi and added that it was not practically possible for one person to single-handedly oversee the affairs of both the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Interior Ministry effectively.
     A favourite of current military leadership, Naqvi, 45, was made the Interior Minister in the Shehbaz Sharif government even though he refused to join the PML-N of the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
     Naqvi was also made the PCB chairman against the will of Shehbaz Sharif, who is also the president of the PML-N.
     The PML-N along with five other parties formed the government after the February 8 polls. Naqvi, who was the caretaker chief minister of Punjab before the February 8 general elections, was recently elected senator as an independent with the support of the ruling coalition.
     The Sharifs were keen to install their loyalist for both posts but it is said that they had to compromise on Naqvi reportedly because of his “friendly equation” with the military establishment which is apparently taking all important decisions.
     The PML-N insider said a federal minister who is considered close to the Sharifs, recently conveyed the message of the party's top leadership to the powerful establishment to ask Naqvi to leave one of the two posts but he received no positive response.
     “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is aware of this concern of the party's main stalwarts and he may take up this matter with the powers that be at an appropriate time,” he added.
     Responding to the possibility of him being asked to relinquish one of the positions, Naqvi told PTI that he had no knowledge of any such government request. “If they will ask then (I) will think about it,” he said.
     Naqvi, who is alleged to be extensively using the ‘private and official’ jets to look after the affairs of both offices in Lahore, Islamabad and elsewhere, said: “(I am) not using the interior ministry plane. I have a good Jeep to travel and don’t take fuel from the government.”
     Political analyst and former Punjab caretaker chief minister Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi said both interior and PCB top positions were full-time jobs and since Naqvi had the backing of the powerful circles this “unusual combination” of keeping both posts is working.
     “However, it will be very challenging for him to deliver on both posts as only time will tell,” Rizvi told PTI and added, “When incidents like the attack on Chinese nationals happen, pressure comes on the interior ministry and questions over keeping two important positions are raised.”

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)