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59 pc Pakistanis view US as enemy: PEW report
The image of the United States remains overwhelmingly negative in Pakistan, according to the 2010 Global Attitudes Project report released by PEW Research Centre. Six in 10 Pakistanis -- 59 percent -- viewed the US as Pakistan's enemy, decreased only slightly from the 64 percent reported in 2009.Opinions regarding the US-Pakistan relations are mixed, with more than half of Pakistanis saying the relations have improved in recent years, while a significant majority of the Pakistanis believe it is important for relations between the two countries to improve. More than eight in 10 Pakistanis -- 84 percent -- consider China a partner, saying they have a favourable opinion of the Asian superpower. However, Punjabis have been seen to be inclined towards anti-American sentiment. Those who live in Punjab are far more likely to consider the US an enemy of Pakistan than those in other regions. About seven in 10 Punjabis -- 69 percent -- express this opinion, compared to 52 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 40 percent in Sindh. PML-N supporters: The opinion that the US is an enemy of Pakistan is also much more prevalent among the Pakistanis affiliated with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) than among those with the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). About 72 percent in the PML-N consider the US an enemy, nine percent say it is a partner, and 12 percent are of the view that it is neither. Less than half -- 46 percent -- in the PPP see the US as an enemy, while 15 percent consider it a partner and 21 percent say it is neither. Obama: US President Barack Obama receives overwhelmingly low marks in Pakistan. Only eight percent express confidence in the US president doing the right thing in world affairs, falling from the 13 percent in 2009. Forty-eight percent disapprove of Obama's policies, nine percent approve, and 42 percent say they do not know. The people of Pakistan see India as a greater threat to their country than the Taliban or al Qaeda with 74 percent viewing India as a serious threat, 54 percent considering the Taliban, and 38 percent viewing al Qaeda. However, Pakistanis have become somewhat less concerned about the threat posed by India than they were in the spring of 2009, when 83 percent considered India a serious threat. Seventy-two percent, in fact, support improved relations with their neighbour and also favour greater economic and political ties between the two countries. Posted by: Fred 2010-07-30 |
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