A majority of Pakistanis view the US as an enemy, oppose the US-led war in Afghanistan and are less concerned about the Taliban and al-Qaeda than a year ago, a Pew Research poll said on Thursday.
Despite billions of dollars in economic and military aid from Washington, the US image in Pakistan was the lowest of the 22 nations included in the 2010 Pew Global Attitudes Survey of 2,000 Pakistanis taken between April 13-28.
A total of 59 percent of respondents described the US as an enemy, with 17 percent having a favorable view and only 11 percent considering it a partner, the poll said.
Only 8 percent trusted US President Barack Obama to do the right thing in world affairs, the lowest rating of the 22-nations surveyed, and only 20 percent had a favorable view of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, down from 64 percent two years ago.
Most Pakistanis also oppose US involvement in neighboring Afghanistan, with 65 percent saying US and NATO troops should be withdrawn as soon as possible. Relatively few believed that the Taliban or al-Qaeda pose a serious threat to their country.
Only 25 percent thought it would be bad for Pakistan if the Taliban were to take over Afghanistan, while 18 percent thought it would be a good thing and 57 percent said it did not matter or had no opinion.
The respondents were less concerned about either group getting the upper hand in Pakistan: the Taliban was rated as a serious threat by 54 percent, against 73 percent last year, and al-Qaeda’s threat perception fell to 38 percent, from 61 percent.
Nevertheless, Pew noted, both groups still had an overall negative image in Pakistan with the Taliban getting a 65 percent unfavorable rating and al-Qaeda 53 percent.
When asked which was the bigger threat, the Taliban, al-Qaeda or India, 53 percent chose neighboring India over 23 percent for the Taliban and only three percent for al-Qaeda.
Despite Washington’s poor rating, most Pakistanis (64 percent) believe it is important to improve relations with their powerful ally, up from 53 percent last year, Pew Research said.
Asked about the state of their own country, 84 percent of the people surveyed by Pew were dissatisfied with the state of Pakistan; only 14 percent were satisfied.
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