— PTI leader says reported directive to spare interior minister reflects PML-N’s dependence on the powers that be after Naqvi questioned the Shehbaz government’s performance and proposed new provinces
By Salman Khawaja
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) senior leader and former federal minister Moonis Elahi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, saying the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo’s reported instruction to party leaders not to criticise Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi laid bare what he called the party’s complete political capitulation to the country’s power centres.
بس، نکل گئی ہوا؟ 😂 https://t.co/rVY18CMcPR
— Moonis Elahi (@MoonisElahi) August 3, 2026
The criticism followed Mohsin Naqvi’s recent remarks in which he suggested that the Shehbaz Sharif-led government had failed to deliver on its promises and argued that creating new provinces could improve governance.
The comments sparked political debate as they came from a key member of the federal cabinet and were viewed by many as an unusual public critique of the government’s performance.
جو صحافی حکومت کی دی ہوئی جھوٹی خبریں پھیلاتے رہے، آج وہی حکومت انہی کو نشانہ بنا رہی ہے۔
— Moonis Elahi (@MoonisElahi) August 4, 2026
Amid the controversy, reports emerged that Nawaz Sharif had advised PML-N leaders to avoid taking on the interior minister, a development the opposition was quick to seize upon.
Moonis Elahi responded with a sarcastic post on X, writing: “So, has all the bravado disappeared?”
The remark was widely seen as a direct taunt at Nawaz Sharif, who had built much of his political narrative in recent years around confronting the establishment and championing civilian supremacy.
Without naming the former prime minister directly, Moonis suggested that the PML-N’s once-defiant posture had given way to unquestioning compliance whenever powerful figures were involved.
He argued that the reported instruction to shield Mohsin Naqvi despite his criticism of the government’s performance demonstrated that the ruling party no longer possessed the political autonomy it once claimed.
According to the PTI leader, the episode exposed what he described as the PML-N’s transformation from a party that spoke of “respecting the vote” into one that now avoided challenging individuals perceived to enjoy establishment backing.
Moonis Elahi also questioned the contradiction of a federal minister openly expressing dissatisfaction with the government’s performance while remaining beyond criticism from the ruling party itself.
Rana Sanaullah confirmed media reports that Nawaz Sharif directed party leaders to refrain from criticising Mohsin Naqvi.
PML-N has practically abandoned its earlier anti-establishment rhetoric in order to stay in power.
