What happened
The Pakistan Peoples Party’s Sindh president, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, demanded on Saturday that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi resign, accusing him of undermining the Constitution by endorsing a “hybrid system” and calling for the creation of new provinces.
Speaking at a press conference in Karachi, Khuhro said Naqvi had no moral or constitutional justification to stay in office after questioning the country’s democratic system. “If the federal interior minister believes that the democratic system has failed and openly praises a hybrid system, then he has no business sitting in Parliament or remaining in the federal cabinet,” he said, according to Dawn. “He should resign from his post.”
The demand followed a meeting Naqvi held with President Asif Ali Zardari at Bilawal House two days earlier and remarks Naqvi made at the Pakistan Economic Summit in Islamabad, where he said the current system of governance had “collapsed” and stressed the need for more provinces.
The new-provinces debate
Khuhro rejected recent discussion of creating new provinces, saying the Constitution set out a clear procedure under which no new province could be established without a two-thirds majority resolution of the provincial assembly concerned. “There is no such demand or constitutional process underway in Sindh,” he said. He recalled that the Punjab Assembly had previously passed a resolution supporting a new province, and said that if anyone wanted to create one, the proposal should first be implemented in Punjab.
He also criticised proposals for as many as 22 provinces, questioning how a fragile economy could sustain additional provincial governments, chief ministers and bureaucratic structures, and accused Naqvi of drawing the armed forces into political debate.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, an ally of the ruling coalition, repeated its own demand for new administrative provinces. At a press conference at the party’s Bahadurabad headquarters, MQM-P Chairman Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said the existing political and administrative structure had failed to meet public needs. “Provinces are not sacred or immutable boundaries. If new administrative provinces are not created, the country cannot move forward,” he said, according to Dawn. He was accompanied by senior leaders Farooq Sattar and Nasreen Jalil. Sattar called for a countrywide referendum on the issue and for the implementation of Article 140-A, which provides for devolution to elected local governments.
Why it matters
The row widened after the military’s spokesperson, Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, urged political parties to consider an administrative reset to improve governance, a day after Naqvi’s remarks.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Saturday that he largely agreed with Naqvi’s description of the system’s condition, but advised him to pursue change through Parliament and the cabinet and to begin with his own ministry. In a post on X, Asif said Naqvi should first implement the National Action Plan and bring a “revolution” to the Pakistan Cricket Board, which Naqvi also heads.
Dawn reported that the debate had drawn responses across the political spectrum, with Sindh’s chief minister rejecting the proposal and Sindhi nationalist groups demanding Naqvi’s resignation.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of published reporting, not independent reporting. Details are as carried by the cited sources, which were reviewed on 2 August 2026.
- Dawn — "PPP demands Mohsin Naqvi's resignation for endorsing 'hybrid system', new provinces"2 August 2026 · Khuhro's resignation demand, the constitutional procedure for new provinces and his criticism of the 22-province proposal.
- Dawn — "Muttahida calls for countrywide referendum on new provinces"2 August 2026 · MQM-P's referendum demand, Siddiqui's remarks and the call to implement Article 140-A.
- Dawn — "Asif reacts to Naqvi's call for governance reset, urges him to begin with his own ministry or PCB"2 August 2026 · Khawaja Asif's response, the DG ISPR's comments and the wider political reaction.
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