6 in 10 Pakistanis support crackdown on terror outfits

WASHINGTON: A majority of people in Pakistan support the government on the issue of eradication of home grown terror outfits.

Sixty per cent of Pakistani nationals are of the view that the government should take a tougher approach to rid the country of terrorist activities, a new Gallup poll has said.

The survey shows substantial support across Pakistan for a tougher stance against terrorist activities, most visibly in Punjab.

Nearly half of the population in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Balochistan think that the government should take a tougher stance on ridding Pakistan of terrorist activities.

Militants of al Qaeda, Taliban and other terror groups have been creating trouble in NWFP and Balochistan for long now.

Many people are of the view that increasing terror-related violence in Pakistan this year is due to the new government's resolve to eliminate terrorism at all costs.



However, the poll also said that not all are pacified with the efforts of the government on the issue. Only 30 per cent think that the government is doing enough in this regard.

Confidence of a normal Pakistani in their local police has also dropped precipitously.

"Rising violence and the government's perceived ineffectiveness to quell it may be the impetus behind the erosion in Pakistanis' general feelings of personal security," the Daily Times the poll, as saying.

"The percentage of Pakistanis saying they feel safe walking alone at night in the areas where they live has dropped measurably within the past year, from 50 per cent in June 2007 to 41 per cent in October 2008," the poll added.

Pakistanis' confidence in their police has dropped 11 percentage points from 42 per cent in 2007 and is the lowest Gallup has measured to date.