TO say that Punjab is Pakistan’s heartland is to state a simple fact. Even if one were to separate the Seraiki belt from the administrative unit that is the province, Punjabis are still the country’s single biggest ethnic-linguistic group. Punjab retains control over the single largest share of economic resources and is the most politically powerful province.

Punjab has long been the crucial cog that has sustained military hegemony. Not only has a majority of the military rank-and-file and top brass been recruited from Punjab, but barring exceptional historical moments, a critical mass of Punjab’s people has provided consent to the national security state.

Is this consensus now fracturing? The political tug-of-war between the establishment and the PTI has certainly been accompanied by a greater and far more vocal critique of the former’s role in Pakistan from within Punjabi society than at any time in the recent past, especially amongst younger generations. Interrogating this contradiction is important not just to gauge what the future may hold for the PTI but for Pakistan’s historic militarised structure of power generally.

Elite wrangling or popular challenge: A notable feature of the current political imbroglio........

© Dawn