It is important to bear in mind that the state has always remained a relatively distant entity for many people, especially in the non-urban parts of Sindh and Balochistan. In these peripheral regions, the state continues to be conceived of predominantly as an oppressive apparatus of coercion and the above-mentioned functions typically associated with the modern state are conspicuous by their absence (or by their selective provision). Increasingly it appears as if the state is coming to be conceived of in similar ways even in the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan.