“There is going to be a civil war in Sindh if the 28th Amendment comes to a pass,” Ayesha Siddiqa, senior fellow at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, told ThePrint.On 3 September, the Sindh Assembly unanimously passed a resolution rejecting any proposal or suggestions which may, in effect, alter the province’s existing territorial limits. Labeling Sindh as a “historic, civilizational and constitutional” entity, the resolution, according to The Express Tribune, highlighted that Sindh was “British India’s first provincial legislature to come out in support of Pakistan’s establishment on 3rd March 1943”.“Sindh is one and shall remain one,” read the concluding line.File photo of the Sindh Legislative Assembly | X @pasgovofficial

The resolution also invoked Article 239(4) of the constitution Pakistan adopted in 1973, which says that any constitutional amendment which would have the effect of altering the limits of a province cannot be presented to the President for assent unless passed by the relevant provincial Assembly with a two-thirds majority.

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28th Amendment & ‘collapse’ of governance

For weeks now, reports in the Pakistani media have hinted at the powers that be weighing a 28th Amendment, which may involve either creation of new provinces, administrative units, or empowerment of local governments. In late July, Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi remarked at the Pakistan Economic Summit that the current system of governance has “collapsed” and the country is in need of new administrative units. A day later, DG-ISPR, spokesperson of Pakistan military’s media wing, endorsed Naqvi’s comments, saying, “…if good governance requires an administrative reset, then let that happen.” These back-to-back statements were widely interpreted as a signal that the Pakistan’s military establishment is looking to restructure provinces, more so given Naqvi’s proximity to Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir.File photo of Field Marshal Asim Munir during visit to Tilla Field Firing Ranges (TFFR) in Mangla, Pakistan on 1 May, 2025 | ISPR | Pool via Reuters