Prime Minister's Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) believes the debate on new provinces is premature, as the issue continues to fuel political tensions. His remarks came after the Sindh Assembly passed a resolution rejecting suggestions to divide the province, alter its boundaries, or create new administrative units amid a boycott by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) - the PML-N's coalition partner in the Centre.

Speaking on a talk show, he said the heat and intensity created over the issue of provinces was unnecessary, adding that the National Assembly was targeted during speeches in the Sindh Assembly. Sanaullah stated that the PML-N would take a position when the time comes, but believes that discussing new provinces at this stage is premature. However, Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal has proposed the creation of 12 to 15 new provinces, urging Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to constitute a committee to review the country's administrative structure.

The discussions come as a decades-old debate over Pakistan's provincial structure has resurfaced, with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi having raised the issue in July by saying that the current system had "collapsed". Sanaullah criticized the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) over its approach, saying the party was doing "all this" to remain politically relevant, though he acknowledged that the division of Sindh was an important issue for the PPP's politics.

Referring to the 26th Constitutional Amendment, Sanaullah rejected cabinet colleague Mustafa Kamal's claim that the MQM-P had not been aware of the consultations. He said consultations had taken place and that the party had spent around a month and a half outside Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman's residence.