Only 22% Indians endorse Modi’s Pakistan approach

More than half (54%) of supporters of Modi’s own party disapprove of the PM's handling of relations with Pakistan

KARACHI: Although otherwise upbeat about Prime Minister Narendra Modi two years into his tenure, an overwhelming majority of Indians disapprove of the way he has handled India’s volatile relationship with Pakistan, a study conducted by the Pew Research Centre has revealed.

According to a report published on Monday, just 22% of the Indian public endorses Modi’s management of Delhi’s ties with Islamabad, even as they favour a militaristic stance against terrorism and support increased defence spending. Around half of them disagree with Modi’s approach, a harsh judgment relatively unchanged from 2015.



Surprisingly, more than half (54%) of supporters of Modi’s own Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) disapprove of the prime minister’s handling of relations with Pakistan, the Pew report revealed.

The figure is higher than the number of supporters of the Congress party – India’s main opposition faction – who oppose Modi’s approach on the matter. Around 45% of Congress adherents disagree with the Indian premier, the report stated.

However, the proportion of Indians responding ‘don’t know’ is higher among Congress supporters (35%) than among BJP adherents (23%), it added.

While predictably nearly three-quarters, or 73%, of Indians hold an unfavourable opinion about Pakistan, a majority (56%) favour further talks between the two neighbours to reduce tensions, according to the Pew study. It added that the desire for dialogue between New Delhi and Islamabad is shared across most demographic groups.



Overall, however, negative sentiments about Pakistan among Indians are up nine points since 2015.

Nearly half, or 48%, of Indians also think China’s relationship with Pakistan poses a very serious problem for India.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd, 2016.