Most Pakistanis believe India behind terror in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: People’s perception survey, “Political Barometer, 2015,” conducted by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) has concluded that most Pakistanis believe India is involved behind terrorism in Pakistan.
According to the survey, about 55 percent of respondents believe India is involved behind terrorism in Pakistan. Another 29 percent blame the US for sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan. Overall, 79 percent of the respondents see a foreign hand behind terrorism in Pakistan.
The survey based on the perceptions of 3,014 respondents, during the period starting from August 25, 2105 to September 10, 2015, has identified Rangers/Army as the leading forces in controlling corruption, followed by media and the superior judiciary. Police on the other hand is perceived as the most corrupt department. Important findings of the survey were shared with the media in a briefing Monday by Executive Director of SDPI Dr Abid Q Suleri, said a press release.
Hailing china as the most reliable friend, 90 percent of the respondents, consider China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) a game changer of which 80 percent believe that the project will promote mutually beneficial trade with China. 79 percent of the respondents consider China as the most reliable friend, followed by Saudi Arabia which enjoys support of 12.3 percent.
23 percent of the respondents perceive unemployment as the biggest challenge Pakistan is facing, followed by corruption and, loadshedding and terror ism, according to 21 and 17 percent of the respondents, respectively.
On the performance of chief ministers in controlling corruption, Sindh province is at the bottom, where according to 67.3 percent of the respondents the performance is unsatisfactory, followed by Balochistan, where 59.1 percent of the respondents termed the performance as unsatisfactory. Punjab is third in a raw, with 45.8 percent are not happy with the performance. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is almost evenly divided in opinion, where 44.4 percent of the respondents are not happy with the performance of their chief minister in controlling corruption, whereas, 43.6 percent perceive his performance as satisfactory.
Respondents consider inflation as a major problem. When asked, ‘does inflation increased,’ 61 percent said “yes” it was. Of them, 51.5 percent believe that the government was not serious in solving this problem. It has affected their lifestyle, in which, food quality education and health have suffered the most.
According to the survey, the PTI is rising nationwide enjoying the support of 32.5 percent of respondents, closely chased by the PML-N floating at the support of 27.6 percent of respondents. The PPP settles at the third place, enjoying the support of 14.5 percent respondents. In the forthcoming local government elections, they will vote not on the party lines, rather they would consider local issues and personalities as important considerations.
Describing the survey, Dr Suleri said the Political Barometer does not pretend to be perfect, more scientific and more representative than others of its kind. However, it does reveal that political division in the society has sharpened than ever before.