This chapter introduces the conceptual and theoretical framework for examining identity construction in Pakistan, a post-colonial Muslim-majority state. It challenges the notion of fixed identities and instead explores their fluid and multifaceted nature. By shifting focus from elite-driven analyses to public-level identity processes, it reveals how individuals navigate and articulate their identities. A key contribution of this chapter is to explain the book’s exploration of the intersection between populist discourse and identity. The chapter explains how populist rhetoric pervades public discourse in Pakistan. It identifies three concurrent meanings of “Pakistaniat” in public narratives: as marginalized underdogs, as a morally superior Muslim nation, and as sovereign democrats. These meanings reflect the populist structuring of identities through antagonistic relationships with “the non-people.”