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Pakistanis Shun U.S. as Partner in War on Terror
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - A large proportion of people in Pakistan continue to think that their country should not collaborate with the United States in the war against terrorism, according to a poll by the International Republican Institute. 61 per cent of respondents share this view, down two points since October.
However, the proportion of people who want the two countries to work together in the war on terror has increased by nine percentage points since October.
Afghanistan has been the main battleground in the war on terrorism. The conflict began in October 2001, after the Taliban regime refused to hand over Osama bin Laden without evidence of his participation in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked and crashed four airplanes on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people.
Pakistan is an ally in the U.S.-led war on terror in Afghanistan. Washington has given close to $10.5 billion U.S. in military and economic aid to Pakistan since 2002.
On May 14, U.S. Marine commandant James T. Conway told members of the U.S. Congress that Pakistan’s army needs more and faster training from American officials so they can defeat insurgents along the Afghanistan border, saying that progress in Afghanistan is not possible unless forces in Pakistan "aren’t having parallel success."
Polling Data
Do you think that Pakistan should cooperate with the United States on its war against terror?
|
|
Mar. 2009 |
Oct. 2008 |
Jun. 2008 |
|
Yes |
37% |
28% |
15% |
|
No |
61% |
63% |
71% |
|
Not sure |
2% |
9% |
14% |
Source: International Republican Institute
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 3,500 Pakistani adults, conducted from Mar. 7 to Mar. 30, 2009. Margin of error is 1.66 per cent.