A new poll has found that a majority of Pakistanis view the government’s decision to agree to a ceasefire with India as a “good” decision, though concerns persist over whether Delhi will comply with it.
Conducted by Gallup Pakistan from May 12-18, the poll surveyed over 750 men and women statistically selected from all four provinces comprising of a cross section of age, and socio-economic classes. It has an estimated error margin of 2-3%.
According to the survey, 91% of Pakistanis support the government’s decision to agree to a ceasefire, while 6% consider it a “bad” decision. There is greater concern over whether India will comply with the ceasefire, however, with 52% of respondents believing Delhi will fully or somewhat comply against 34% who expect the neighboring state will not comply at all.
The poll’s findings suggest 87% of Pakistanis believe India was responsible for starting the war, while 3% blame Pakistan and 4% hold both states equally responsible for the conflict. However, 96% of the respondents said they believed Pakistan emerged the ultimate victor. By contrast, 1% of respondents said they thought India proved more successful and 2% said neither was more successful.
A large majority—97%–rated the Pakistani military’s performance as either good or very good during the time of conflict against 1% who said it was neither good nor bad and roughly 1% who rated it bad or very bad. This is also reflected in the public’s opinion of the Pakistan Army, with 93% of respondents saying their opinion of the armed forces had improved, while 1% said it had worsened and 4% said there had been no change in their views.
Of the civilian leadership, 73% of respondents thought Parliament, the president and the prime minister’s performance was good or very good, while 7% declared it bad and 12% thought it was neither good, nor bad. Among major political parties, the ruling PMLN received the highest positive performance rating (65%), followed by the PTI (60%) and the PPP (58%).
Future response
Following the ceasefire, 49% of respondents believed Pakistan should normalize ties with India regarding trade cooperation; 48% sports; 44% education; and 40% cultural exchanges. By contrast, around a third of respondents consistently opposed any future normalization.
The conflict also played a role in shaping the perception of Pakistan’s international allies. Public opinion of Pakistan’s friendship with China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran improved significantly post-conflict, with China topping the list at 83% positive rating; Saudi Arabia 75%; Turkey 76%; and Iran 71%. By contrast, views on the U.S. were more divided, with only 39% reporting improved sentiment.
To a hypothetical question about Partition in 1947, 86% stated they would have supported the creation of Pakistan compared to 3% who said they would have opposed.