Most Pakistanis believe country headed in wrong direction: Survey

With decline in Musharraf’s popularity and in the wake of the assassination of PPP leader Benazir Bhutto, Sharif turned out to be the favourite, with 82 per cent saying they like him and only six per cent saying they do not.

This was up from 36 per cent in June 2006, when he trailed Musharraf and Bhutto.

The survey was conducted by US-based International Republican Institute (IRI), with a randomly selected sample consisting of 3,484 men and women from 223 rural and 127 urban areas in 50 districts of Pakistan’s four provinces.

Despite PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s reluctance to confront Musharraf, his popularity rating rose to 45 per cent from 37 per cent in the last IRI poll.

Among the PPP leaders, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s popularity’s too has increased, rising to 64 per cent from 23 per cent in the last poll.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the absentee chairman of PPP, also saw a rise in popularity to 61 per cent, up from 55 per cent since the last poll.

Sixty-seven per cent of respondents also said they would support election of nuclear scientist A Q Khan as the nation’s next president, while 15 per cent said they would not.

Sharif also dominated the “best leader for Pakistan” category, being the choice of 38 per cent, with disgraced nuclear scientist A Q Khan at number two and deposed Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif sharing the third slot in the list.

This was the first survey carried out by an international organisation since the PPP-led government assumed office after the February 18 polls.

The poll found that Musharraf’s job approval rating had dropped significantly. Only 11 per cent said they approved of his performance while an all-time high of 75 per cent said they did not.

In IRI’s June 2006 poll, Musharraf was the most popular leader in Pakistan, with 52 per cent saying they liked him. In the June 2008 poll, only nine per cent gave their approval.

Asked if they thought Musharraf should resign, an all-time high of 85 per cent answered in the affirmative, up 10 points from the last poll. In addition, 79 per cent said they would feel better about Pakistan’s future if Musharraf was out of office.

Musharraf’s allies too found themselves in an unpopular position, with only eight per cent of the respondents saying they liked PML-Q leaders Chaudhry Pervez Elahi and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.

Asked to rate institutions, 85 per cent said they had a favourable impression of the new government, making it the most popular institution, in sharp contrast to the 29 per cent rating that the previous PML-Q-led government received.

On personal front only 19 per cent expressed optimism when asked if they felt their economic well-being would improve during the coming year.

A total of 89 per cent of the respondents cited economic concerns as their top priority, with inflation and unemployment figuring on top of the list in issues of concern.

Pakistanis were, however unambiguous when it came to restoration of judges deposed by Musharraf last year, with 83 per cent in favour of their reinstatement.

While 61 per cent said they felt religious extremism was a serious problem in the country (down 12 per cent), only 45 per cent said Al Qaida and the Taliban were a serious concern, a 20 point drop since February and an all-time low since the IRI started conducting polls last September.

When it came to solutions for extremism and terrorism, the poll revealed that the Pakistanis prefer negotiations and development to military options. Asked if they supported political dialogue with extremists, 71 per cent responded yes while 65 per cent said they supported a peace deal.