Most Pakistanis see US as an enemy: poll

A majority of Pakistanis view the United States as an enemy according to a Pew Research poll.

WASHINGTON: A majority of Pakistanis view the United States as an enemy, oppose the US-led war in Afghanistan and are less concerned about the Taliban and al Qaeda than a year ago, a Pew Research poll said on Thursday.

Despite billions of dollars in economic and military aid received from Washington, the United States' image in Pakistan was the lowest among the 22 nations included in the 2010 Pew Global Attitudes Survey of 2,000 Pakistanis taken between April 13-28. Fifty-nine per cent of the respondents described the United States as an enemy, with 17 per cent having a favourable view and only 11 per cent considering it a partner, the poll said. Only eight per cent trusted US President Barack Obama to do the right thing in world affairs, the lowest rating of the 22-nation survey, and only 20 per cent had a favourable view of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, down from 64 per cent two years ago.

Most Pakistanis also oppose US involvement in neighbouring Afghanistan, with 65 per cent saying US and Nato troops should be withdrawn as soon as possible, and relatively few believe the Taliban and al Qaeda pose a serious threat to their country. Only 25 per cent thought it would be bad for Pakistan if the Taliban were to again take over Afghanistan, while 18 per cent thought it would be a good thing and 57 per cent said it did not matter or had no opinion. The respondents were less concerned about either group getting the upper hand in Pakistan: the Taliban was rated as a serious threat by 54 per cent, against 73 per cent last year, and al Qaeda's threat perception fell to 38 per cent, from 61 per cent.

Nevertheless, Pew noted, both groups still had an overall negative image in Pakistan with the Taliban getting a 65 per cent unfavourable rating and al Qaeda 53 per cent. When asked which was the bigger threat, Taliban, al Qaeda or India, 53 per cent chose neighbouring India over 23 percent for the Taliban and only three percent for al Qaeda.

Despite Washington's poor rating, most Pakistanis (64 per cent) believe it is important to improve relations with their powerful ally, up from 53 per cent last year, Pew Research said. And about their own country, 84 per cent of the Pakistanis surveyed by Pew were dissatisfied with the state of their nation; only 14 per cent were satisfied.