Seventy-nine years after Pakistan gained independence on 14 August 1947, the country's foundational contradictions — around national identity, resource distribution, political representation, and relations with neighbours — remain as unresolved as they were at Partition, according to a report published in leading Pakistani daily Dawn. The analysis arrives on Pakistan's Independence Day as its own interior minister has publicly declared the country's governance system to have broken down.

A 'Rinse-and-Repeat' System of Control

Political activist and academic Aasim Sajjad Akhtar, writing in Dawn, argues that Pakistan's peripheral regions and ordinary citizens have been subjected to a recurring cycle of oppression and exploitation — one that successive unelected state apparatuses have perpetuated under the cover of combating foreign conspiracy.

'The enemies within Pakistan have increased over time,' Akhtar wrote, describing what he characterised as a 'decrepit system kept functional by small-minded rulers who only want power and wealth' while young Pakistanis are denied basic human needs and liberties.

Akhtar also noted that regime ideologues periodically propose replacing existing provinces with new administrative units while making rhetorical gestures against feudal sardars and nawabs — without addressing the underlying power imbalance. He argued that a militarised ruling class has consistently refused to share power with even the elites of Pakistan's historical peripheries.

Interior Minister Concedes System Has 'Collapsed'

The critique from civil society finds an unlikely echo in government itself. Last month, Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told the Pakistan Economic Summit that the country's current governance framework is no longer functional.

'The system we are living under has collapsed. Problems cannot be solved through it,' Naqvi was quoted as saying by Dawn. He warned that Pakistan would continue debating the same issues a decade from now if no structural reset was undertaken, adding that the 'failed system' had persisted for 70 years.

Naqvi called for cross-party dialogue on governance reforms and proposed the creation of new provinces alongside administrative restructuring. He also pointed to a stark symbol of institutional failure: Pakistan, an agricultural nation, continues to import wheat.

The National Question: No Easy Answers

Akhtar's assessment of the prospects for resolving what he calls Pakistan's 'tortured national question' is bleak but not entirely without hope. He called for a plurinational social contract that treats all of Pakistan's constituent peoples as equals, ensures natural resources serve the needs of all citizens including future generations, and establishes peace with neighbouring countries.

'Not high, but there are still many in our midst who continue the struggle for genuine decolonisation,' Akhtar wrote, framing the path forward as a 'tall order' requiring structural political transformation.

Broader Context: Decades of Democratic Deficit

Pakistan has seen multiple military interventions, prolonged periods without representative institutions, and persistent economic fragility since 1947. The current political landscape — marked by the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, a disputed general election in early 2024, and an economy reliant on IMF bailouts — lends urgency to both Akhtar's analysis and Naqvi's admission.

Notably, this is not the first time Pakistani officials or commentators have called for a systemic reset; similar calls were made after the 1971 separation of Bangladesh and again after the 2007–08 political crisis. Whether the current moment produces meaningful reform or follows the same pattern remains to be seen.