A rare public confrontation erupted within the ranks of the ruling party during a National Assembly session on Tuesday. Federal Minister for Railways and PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi stunned lawmakers by issuing a sharp, indirect criticism aimed directly at his senior party colleague and Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif. The rebuke was in response to a speech delivered by Asif a day earlier, which Abbasi deemed inappropriate for a member of the treasury benches.
Without explicitly naming Asif, Abbasi challenged his colleague’s tenure and loyalty, stating, “You are part of the system for the last 40 years which you are saying is not on the right path.” He argued that it was unsuitable for a government minister to adopt the critical tone of the opposition. Abbasi went a step further by advising that if Asif had genuine differences with government policies, the honorable course of action would be to resign from his ministerial position, as had been done in the past.
The root of the conflict lies in Khawaja Asif’s Monday speech, where he launched a broadside against systemic corruption and the absence of devolution. He had criticized a senator from Sialkot for selling plots on nullahs and riverbeds, questioning how much land had truly been retrieved from mafias. Asif had also strongly advocated for a robust local government system to serve people at their doorstep, lamenting that past governments had only used it as a tool for their own interests.
In his retort, Abbasi defended the government’s performance, specifically citing his own work in Rawalpindi. He claimed he never shirked responsibility for problems like encroachments and took pride in the city’s improved condition during heavy rains. He concluded with a stern warning to his fellow minister, urging him to “have some fear of Allah Almighty” and to end the trend of treasury members criticizing the very system they are part of.
