Most Pakistanis think US, not archrival India, biggest threat

Jun 4, 2011, 10:55 GMT

Islamabad - An opinion poll by a German organization shows that most of Pakistanis consider the United States and not traditional enemy India as the biggest threat to their country.

The survey titled 'Pakistan after death of Osama bin Laden - dance on the volcano' by the German political foundation, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS,) was carried out in the last week of May, with 500 people questioned.

'The survey determined that astonishingly 38 per cent of the interviewees see the USA as the biggest menace,' Dr Babak Khalatbari of KAS, told the German Press Agency dpa while sharing the findings on Saturday.

Only 9 per cent said that India was the biggest danger, the poll found. Thirty-one per cent picked the economic crisis, while 22 per cent saw militants as a mortal threat to the country.

But while the poll found that people see the US as a threat, it also indicated that relations should be maintained, with 67 per cent agreeing that Pakistan should continue cooperation with Washington.

The poll captures the changing realities in Pakistan where India was treated as enemy number one after both countries fought three major wars since independence from Britain in 1947.

But the situation changed after Pakistan tested nuclear weapons in 1998 to establish an uneasy balance with its eastern neighbour which has far superior conventional military capabilities.

The US image is now feeling the heat amid the increasing number of drone attacks in Pakistan and after the covert raid early last month to kill bin Laden in Abbottabad, 60 kilometres from Islamabad.

The KAS poll showed that 72 per cent believed that bin Laden was not killed in Abbottabad. However, 69 per cent, answering a different question, said that he was dead, but was not necessarily killed in Abbottabad.

People also expressed support for the war on terror, with 66 per cent saying that their country should continue fighting against the militants and 57 per cent saying that the current security set-up in Pakistan can deal with the threat of the terrorists.

On the key issue about the safety of Pakistan's nuclear weapons, 81 per cent said the country's nuclear arsenals were well protected.

Read more about US