More than 9 in 10 Pakistanis dislike US

More than nine in 10 Pakistanis disapprove of US leadership in 2012, according to a new Gallup poll, the highest disapproval rating ever registered.

The poll, presented on Thursday, was conduct by questioning 1,000 Pakistani adults in face-to-face interviews during September 30 to October 16, 2012.

The results showed that 92 percent of the 1,000 adults are against the US leadership, while 4 percent approve and the remaining four percent do not know.

According to Gallup, the approval ratings have always been quite low with a peak of 27 percent in May of 2011, however, after the killing of Osama bin Laden by US military, which Pakistanis’ view as a blatant disregard for its sovereignty, the ratings have decreased steadily.

At the same time, 55 percent of Pakistanis fell more threatened by interaction with the West now than three years ago when the rating registered at 39 percent, according to a May 12 to June 6, 2012 survey.

Those, who believed that the interaction is to “more of a benefit” were 32 percent and remaining 13 percent answered unsure.

Gallup stated that the reasons for the sharply increased disapproval ratings are the above-mentioned US killing of bin Laden and also the reported authorization of 350 US drone strikes in Pakistan.

The pollster continued by saying a recently leaked Justice Department memo on the legal justification for using drones to target not only foreigners but also US citizens abroad, for example in Pakistan, and the possible nomination of CIA director John Brennan will certainly strain future relations between the two countries.

CAH/JR