Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Saturday backed the creation of new provinces based on administrative needs instead of ethnic considerations, arguing that governing the entire province from Quetta alone was not feasible. Speaking to journalists in Quetta, Bugti said any future provinces should be established on administrative considerations instead of linguistic or ethnic lines to improve governance.

Bugti's remarks come as discussions over Pakistan's administrative framework continue to gather momentum, with coalition partners the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) holding differing views on the establishment of new provinces or administrative units. The discussion began in July after Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi described the governance system as having collapsed and called for structural reforms, including new administrative units with greater powers devolved to lower levels.

He later clarified he was referring to the system's decline over the past 80 years, not any specific government. Bugti also said the country's civil and military leadership were united in their stance against terrorism, adding that there was no ambiguity or confusion over the state's policy. He ruled out talks with those who take up arms against the state under any circumstances, stressing that terrorism was not an issue confined to a single province but a challenge facing the whole of Pakistan.

On 5 and 6 September, the interior minister stood by his earlier assessment that the system had been completely destroyed, while clarifying he was referring to its deterioration over the past 80 years rather than any particular government. Naqvi said the creation of new administrative units should be based on the people's wishes, describing the moment as requiring a system reset. The debate subsequently widened when Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal called for a national discussion on Pakistan's administrative structure and proposed 12 to 15 provinces.