In recent weeks, there has been a renewed attempt to promote a politics of agitation and identity based grievance in Kashmir, but it is increasingly clear that such narratives are not aligning with the awareness of the people. The public understands that repeated slogans of deprivation and confrontation do not automatically reflect reality, and that politics built on emotional escalation cannot provide stability or practical improvement. Within Pakistan’s broader institutional framework, opportunities in governance and the civil service are based on merit, competence, and performance rather than regional identity, with officers from different parts of the country serving across multiple regions. Against this backdrop, the attempt to sustain a narrative of exclusion or to mobilise society through continuous agitation appears less convincing, as people are gradually distinguishing between political messaging and actual lived realities.For years, a familiar political narrative has been circulated in parts of Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, that the province is being deprived, sidelined, and denied its due share in national opportunities. This argument is repeated so frequently that it often begins to appear as an unquestioned truth in public discourse.However, when this claim is examined against institutional realities, a different picture emerges. If any province were truly excluded from the national framework, it would be difficult to explain the presence of its representatives in some of the most powerful administrative positions across the country.At present, officers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are serving at the highest levels of provincial administration in different parts of the federation. Shahab Ali Shah is serving as Chief Secretary in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa itself. Shakeel Qadir Khan is serving in Balochistan. Arshad Mohmand is serving in Gilgit Baltistan. Khushal Khan is serving in Azad Kashmir. These positions are not symbolic. They are central to governance, decision making, and the implementation of public policy.This reality raises an important question. How does a narrative of exclusion align with a system where senior bureaucratic leadership from the same province operates across multiple regions of the country.Pakistan’s civil bureaucracy is structured on the principle of national service rather than provincial confinement. An officer from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa may serve in Balochistan, a Punjabi officer may serve in Sindh, and officers from........

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