The weekly Gallup Poll is conducted under the direction of Dr. Ijaz Shafi Gilani Chairman Gallup Pakistan. Dr. Gilani holds a Ph.d from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is well known for his pioneering work in the field of marketing and social research in Pakistan

85% PAKISTANIS FEAR AN IMMINENT AMERICAN STRIKE AGAINST AFGHANISTAN.

In case of war 67% Favour choosing to side with Afghanistan and 7% with USA. 27% advise neutrality.
22% Pakistanis believe that Osama is responsible for terrorist attack in USA. 54% suspect an American group or Israel is behind the attack.
32% favour government decision to support American while 62% are opposed.

Islamabad, September 19, 2001

According to a snap poll coby Gallup Pakistan in the major cities of the country, 85% of the respondents fear an imminent American attack on Afghanistan. While 32% of them support their governmennducted t's decision to lend its support to America, 62% oppose it. In the event that America decides to mount a military strike against Afghanistan, 7% advise their government to side with America while 63% advise to side with Afghanistan, 27% advise neutrality and 3% did not answer. Most notably only one in five (22%) Pakistanis believe that Osama Bin Ladin is responsible for the terrorist attack on USA. Nearly twice as many (54%) believe that the responsibility lies on either a homegrown American group (30%) or Israel (24%). The remaining suspect it was done by Palestinians (7%) or other miscellaneous groups (12%); 5% did not answer.

These findings have emerged from a snap poll of over 500 Pakistani men and women in the major cities of the country. They were a representative cross section of the population living in the major urban areas of the country including Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and included men and women of various age, education and socio-economic backgrounds. A similar survey was done by Gallup International this week in 29 countries across the globe.

The survey findings show that Pakistanis make a sharp distinction between the right to seek extradition and the right to make military strikes. If America succeeds in providing evidence on the identity of terrorists, 69% of Pakistanis support its right to seek their extradition for trial, 9% support its right to mount a military strike while 15% say that neither of the two are justified, 3% gave other miscellaneous responses while 4% did not respond.

It is interesting to note that in 27 out of the 29 countries where this global survey was carried out by Gallup International majorities opposed military strike. The two exceptions were USA where 54% supported military strike and Israel where 77% supported military strike.

Only 2% Pakistanis support American right to strike at civilian targets if it mounts an attack, 55% support attack only on military targets in that eventuality, while 38% say they are opposed to both types of attacks. The remaining 5% did not respond.

It is interesting to note that all except 3% of the respondents said they had heard about the deadly events in USA. More than 80% had come to know of it within hours of the event while the remaining came to know of it the next morning. The event had happened at 6 p.m in the evening according to local time. The news was first broken to them, they said, mostly by broadcasts from TV (66%), followed by word of mouth / friends and relatives (17%), newspapers (10%), Radio (5%), Internet (1%) and other sources (1%).

The survey was conducted by Gallup Pakistan, the Pakistani affiliate of Gallup International among a statistically selected sample of more than 500 men and women in the major urban areas of the country including Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. The error margin for a survey of this type is around 5% at 95% confidence level. The fieldwork was carried out on September 17. The complete text of this Report can also be seen at www.gallup.com.pk. For comparative data on attitudes of 30 countries from across the globe on the same issue please visit www.gallup-international.com.

Gallup Snap Poll on Suicide Attacks in the USA conducted September 17, 2001 in the major urban areas of Pakistan

Highlights

1. 85% of Pakistanis believe that the chances of American attack on Afghanistan are either very high (55%) or quite high (30%). Thirteen percent (13%) believe the chances are slim. The remaining 2% did not respond.
2. Two out of three Pakistanis (62%) oppose that Government of Pakistan should join America in any coalition to strike against terrorists. Thirty two percent (32%) support Pakistan's participation. The remaining 6% did not answer.
3. When asked specifically on Pakistan's decision to assist America in seeking Osama Bin Ladin's extradition, 29% supported the decision, 67% opposed and 4% did not answer.
4. But only 7% say Pakistan should ally with America if it strikes against Afghanistan, while 63% support taking sides with Afghanistan, and 27% advise neutrality. The remaining 3% did not answer.
5. One in Five (22%) Pakistanis believe that Osama is responsible for Suicide attack in America. Others attribute it to homegrown American groups (30%), Israel (24%), Palestinians (7%) and others (12%). The remaining 5% did not answer.
6. If America succeeds in providing evidence on the identity of terrorists, 69% of Pakistanis support its right to seek their extradition for trial, 9% support its right to mount a military strike while 15% say that neither of the two are justified. 3% gave other miscellaneous responses while 4% did not respond.
7. Only 2% support American right to strike at civilian targets if it mounts an attack, 55% support attack only on military targets in that eventuality, while 38% say they are opposed to both types of attacks. The remaining 5% did not respond.
8. Television was the most important source of breaking the news to Pakistani Public. Sixty-six percent (66%) said the news was first broken to them by TV broadcasts; other sources were word of mouth / friends and relatives (17%), newspapers (10%), Radio (5%)Internet (1%).
9. 78% came to know of the event within hours of the event, 19% came to know the next day; 3% did not have any knowledge.

Date/Time Last Modified: 6/18/2002 8:07:19 AM

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