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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (42272)	3/28/2002 7:58:35 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

Favourable views of Pakistan-US relations are now at one of the highest levels ever recorded, with six-in-ten (62 per cent) calling ties good, and 58 per cent believing they have improved in recent months... 28th March 2002...The News survey.. What was being portrayed by the media in what I term as the non sense of Oct ..2001....the yellow media...some reflections on what you read is not what is happening on the ground...... The fiction......of Oct 2001.. Pakistan's security forces face questions of loyalty Many officers are uncomfortable defending U.S. policy against protesters. October 19, 2001 By TOD ROBBERSON The Dallas Morning News ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- For President Pervez Musharraf, the easy part of the U.S. bombing campaign is dealing with the thousands of screaming street protesters praising Afghanistan's Taliban leadership and calling for death to America. The challenge comes from military officers, soldiers and intelligence agents under his command who are quietly letting their leader know they think the protesters are right. With opposition running high, Musharraf is pressing U.S. leaders to end the bombing as soon as possible. He reiterated that message during Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to Pakistan this week. In the meantime, though, Musharraf is having to rely more and more on the military and police to keep a lid on public demonstrations that are growing and becoming increasingly violent. US strikes during Ramzan may topple Musharraf: PTI • Washington • October 31 • 11:55 AM IST -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saudi Prince Turki as-Sudairi fears that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf may be toppled if the United States continues to bomb Afghanistan during the holy month of Ramzan, reports the Wall Street Journal. The fact of March 28 2002............. Musharraf's popularity soared after Sept 11: survey By our correspondent.. The news.... ISLAMABAD: President General Pervez Musharraf's decision of joining the anti-terrorism coalition paid off with his personal popularity soared in the post-September 11 or post-Taliban scenario. However, the fact that about half of the urban populace are dissatisfied with the economy is a potential threat to President Musharraf's popularity, especially if public expectations of improvements are not met. An opinion poll conducted by a Western country network, about half of 2,065 urbanites, who participated in the polls are not satisfied with the economic policies of the government. According to a Western diplomat based in Islamabad, a recently-conducted poll reflected President Musharraf's popularity among Pakistanis has soared in the wake of his decision to back the United States in the anti-terrorism campaign. "The large majority (82 per cent) of urban Pakistanis has confidence in him," said the diplomat quoting the opinion-poll 'South Asia Opinion Alert.' According to the poll, popularity of President Musharraf has increased substantially from 64 per cent last September/October, as majority (79 per cent) voices a good opinion of his personally, up from 57 per cent last November. Musharraf's personal popularity is paralleled by broad popular support for his government: 74 per cent say they have confidence in their national government, a striking reversal from June, when 59 per cent said they had little or no such confidence. On the question of opposition facing President Musharraf or his government, the poll reflected that there was no popular political opposition to effectively challenge his rule at this point of time, i.e. March 2002. "Three-quarters (76 per cent) say they have little or no confidence in the nation's political party leaders, and half (52 per cent) say the same for religious leaders," said the poll document as shown to The News by the western diplomat, "what popular support religious leaders have does not translate to support in upcoming elections: a plurality (47 per cent) of likely voters indicates they would be unlikely to vote for a religious party candidate, up from 29 per cent in last September/October." The military, said the diplomat, enjoys the highest level of public trust (91 per cent) according to this poll. On the increased public optimism about the economy, the perceptions of the state of the economy have improved since last fall; with almost as many now calling it good (43 per cent) as saying it is poor (51 per cent). The plurality (44 per cent) expect some improvement over the next year, as by comparison, early last fall the solid majority (62 per cent) rated the economy as poor. Nonetheless, the fact that about half are still dissatisfied with the economy is a potential threat to Musahrraf's popularity, especially if public expectations of improvement are not met. Favourable views of Pakistan-US relations are now at one of the highest levels ever recorded, with six-in-ten (62 per cent) calling ties good, and 58 per cent believing they have improved in recent months. In November last, perceptions of positive relations surged shortly after the US removed economic sanctions and initiated other economic benefits to Pakistan. But perceptions of US even-handedness in its regional policies continue to be a problem: Pakistanis still tend to see the US policies as favouring India. The opinion-poll shows that plurality (43 per cent) believes that Pakistan's cooperation with the US in the anti-terrorism campaign will help their country's economy. However, findings suggest that these expectations of rewards could be a problem if the public comes to believe the US is not living up to its promises. In fact, the poll shows that Pakistanis are already becoming somewhat cynical about US follow-through with a majority (59 per cent) doubting that the US will meet its commitments.