NEW YORK: Most Pakistanis now see the Pakistani Taliban as well as al Qaeda as a critical threat to the country—a major shift from 18 months ago—and support the government and army in their fight in the Swat Valley against the Pakistani Taliban , according to the findings of new public opinion survey released Wednesday.
The survey also reveals that the leader of Pakistan Muslim League (N) Nawaz Sharif is the most popular leader in Pakistan and President Asif Zardari the least popular politician. But Mr Zardari’s poor ratings have not affected Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani who continues to enjoy favourable ratings, as does the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s supreme court Iftikhar Chaudhry.
‘A sea change has occurred in Pakistani public opinion. The tactics and undemocratic bent of militant groups—in tribal areas as well as Swat—have brought widespread revulsion and turned Pakistanis against them,’ comments Clay Ramsay, research director at WorldPublicOpinion.org
However, he adds: ‘It’s crucial to understand that the US is resented just as much as before, despite the US having a new president.’
An overwhelming majority think that Taliban groups who seek to overthrow the Afghan government should not be allowed to have bases in Pakistan.
Caveat
However, this does not bring with it a shift in attitudes toward the US. A large majority continue to have an unfavourable view of the US government. Almost two-thirds say they do not have confidence in Obama. An overwhelming majority opposes US drone attacks in Pakistan
These are some of the results of a new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll conducted May 17-28, 2009. The nationwide random sample included 1000 Pakistani adults, selected using multi-stage probability sampling, who responded in face-to-face interviews. The margin of error is +/- 3.2 per cent.
There has been a huge increase in those who think the ‘activities of Islamist militants and local Taliban’ are a critical threat to Pakistan—a 47 point rise to 81 per cent, up from 34 per cent in late 2007. If the Pakistani Taliban were to gain control of the country, 75 per cent say this would be bad (very bad, 67 per cent)—though only 33 per cent think this outcome is likely.
Seventy per cent say their sympathies are more with the government than with the Pakistani Taliban in the struggle over Swat. Large majorities express confidence in the government (69 per cent) and the military (72 per cent) to handle the situation. Retrospectively, the public leans (by 45 per cent to 40 per cent) towards thinking the government was right to try to make an agreement in which the Pakistani Taliban would shut down its camps and turn in its heavy weapons in return for a shari’a court system in Swat. But now 67 per cent think the Pakistani Taliban violated the agreement when it sent its forces into more areas, and 63 per cent think the people of Swat disapprove of the agreement.
On the Afghan Taliban, an overwhelming 87 per cent think that groups fighting to overthrow the Afghan government should not be allowed to have bases in Pakistan. Most (77per cent) do not believe the Afghan Taliban has bases in Pakistan. However, if Pakistan’s government were to identify such bases in the country, three in four (78per cent) think it should close the bases even if it requires using military force.
Public attitudes toward al Qaeda training camps follow the same pattern. Those saying the ‘activities of al Qaeda’ are a critical threat to Pakistan are up 41 points to 82 per cent. Almost all (88 per cent) think al Qaeda should not be allowed to operate training camps in Pakistan. Though 76 per cent do not believe there are such camps, if the Pakistani government were to identify them, 74 per cent say the government should close them, with force if necessary.
This striking new public willingness to see the government directly oppose Taliban groups and al Qaeda owes little or nothing to an ‘Obama effect.’ A 62 per cent majority expresses low confidence in President Obama to do the right thing in world affairs (none at all, 41 per cent). Only one in three (32 per cent) think his policies will be better for Pakistan; 62 per cent think they will be about the same (26 per cent) or worse (36 per cent).
Views of the US remain overwhelmingly negative. Sixty-nine per cent have an unfavourable view of the current US government (58 per cent very unfavourable)—essentially the same as in 2008. Eighty-eight per cent think it is a US goal to weaken and divide the Islamic world (78 per cent definitely a goal). The US Predator drone attacks aimed at militant camps within the Pakistani border are rejected by 82 per cent as unjustified. On the war in Afghanistan, 72 per cent disapprove of the NATO mission and 79 per cent want it ended now; 86 per cent think most Afghans want the mission ended as well.
Pakistani leaders survey
Asked about the nation’s leaders, a large majority—68 per cent—views President Zardari unfavourably (very, 50 per cent), but—unlike the recent past—there are multiple national leaders whom most do view favourably. Prime Minister Gilani is seems untarred by negative views of Zardari and gets favourable ratings from 80 per cent of Pakistanis. The restored Chief Justice Chaudhry is very popular (82 per cent), and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif is extremely popular (87per cent). The leader most associated with the Pakistani Taliban, Maulana Sufi Mohammad, is viewed positively by only 18 per cent of Pakistanis.
0 comments:
Post a Comment