The biggest mistake anyone in today's Pakistan can make is to assume that business as usual is ok.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi's shocker of a speech did not come out of nowhere. For months now, things had been slowly piling up in a manner which suggested that, well, business as usual was not cutting it any more. Not in the Centre and not in the provinces. The one-page-fits-all cosy arrangement that defines the power matrix in vogue today may be up for some amendments (no pun intended).

Mohsin Naqvi's most important points were:

a) The present system has collapsed in terms of delivering good governance

b) More administrative units and empowered local governments are essential

c) The Field Marshal will not cross the red line but the politicians have to get together and fix governance because gimmicks (my word, not his) like giving tablets to students won't solve their problems

The speech has generated fervent debate across the country about imminent changes that may be in the offing. Some are speculating that the federal government has become wobbly while others wonder if the provinces are about to see their powerful and cash-rich domains come under renewed pressure. So how exactly did we get here? And where is this situation heading? Here are ten points that may explain.

1. The big reforms favoured by the establishment are clear: (i) Change in the National Finance Commission (NFC) so the federal government has more fiscal space (ii) Administrative and financial empowerment of local governments (iii)........

© The Express Tribune