Less than half of Pakistani public backs the use of force against al Qaeda and other militants, while a massive majority opposes involvement of foreign forces, a survey said on Wednesday. There is also low support for President Pervez Musharraf, said the poll of 907 urban Pakistanis by the US-based World Public Opinion org group.
The survey was conducted in September, before the suicide bombing at Benazir's procession on October 18 and another attack near President's office on Tuesday. "The Pakistani people are not enthusiastic about Musharraf; do not support his recent crackdown on fundamentalists; and are lukewarm, at best, about going after al Qaeda or the Taliban," group director Steven Kull said.
"It appears that a US strategy, that rests on Musharraf being a frontliner in the war on terrorism has poor prospects," he added in a statement. Forty-four percent favoured sending the army to the north-western tribal areas to "pursue and capture al Qaeda fighters", while 48 percent would allow it to act against "insurgents who have crossed over from Afghanistan." In both cases, about a-third opposed military action and a-fifth declined to answer, the poll showed.
An overwhelming 80 percent of respondents opposed allowing foreign troops to attack al Qaeda militants on Pakistan's soil. Similarly, 77 percent rejected such action to take on Taliban based in Pakistan.
Most Pakistanis also opposed the government's previous actions against militants. Sixty-four percent said the army raid on al Qaeda-linked Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Islamabad was a "mistake", while only 22 percent backed it. The poll showed sympathy for Islamist beliefs, with 60 percent of those questioned saying that Islamic Shariah law should play a greater role in Pakistan.