Overview
- Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi reiterated on Saturday that he will not withdraw his demand for new provinces and said any change must reflect public opinion.
- Naqvi and some senior ministers have proposed public consultation or a referendum to build legitimacy while floating wide plans for administrative restructuring, including suggestions of a large 28th‑amendment package.
- Constitutional experts say a referendum alone cannot create provinces because Article 239 requires a two‑thirds vote in the relevant provincial assembly to alter provincial boundaries.
- The Pakistan Peoples Party and the Sindh Assembly have formally opposed dividing Sindh, making political consent uncertain even as influential figures and reported 'powerful quarters' back a reset.
- No formal cabinet submission or draft bill has been placed before ministers and the debate remains politically charged but institutionally preliminary with local‑government devolution offered as a lower‑risk alternative.