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Govt has popular support for its actions: Gallup survey By Masood Haider
Pakistani army troops patrol near a makeshift camp for internally displaced persons. -AFP Photo Children in conflict zone face threat of malaria NEW YORK: A Gallup poll survey released Wednesday says the Pakistan government may have some popular support for its actions despite a major offensive against Taliban insurgents which has displaced more than half a million Pakistanis. According to the survey conducted in December, before the current military operation, nearly half of Pakistanis (47 per cent ) believed the Taliban's presence in some areas of the country has a negative influence; 14 per cent said it has a positive influence and 39 per cent had no opinion. The survey concludes that although much has changed in Pakistan since the Gallup survey, with a troubled economy and many Pakistanis struggling to afford food and shelter even before this crisis, any popular support for the offensive could hinge on how Pakistan handles the internal refugee situation. In the event that the offensive successfully drives out the Taliban, what the government does then will be nearly as crucial to Pakistan's future as the military operation itself. Displaced Pakistanis who escaped the fighting will need help with rebuilding their homes, schools, and businesses when and if they return home. They will also require some type of assurance that the government will continue to pressure the militants and keep them from returning again. In the NWFP, where a resurging Taliban has used often-brutal tactics to extend its control in the last year, roughly half of residents (49 per cent ) told Gallup in December that the presence of the Taliban has a negative influence. While only 10 per cent in this province said the Taliban had a positive influence, 41per cent said they did not know or would not say. Sizable percentages in the Sindh (44 per cent ) and Punjab (60 per cent ) provinces also saw the Taliban's influence as negative. However, the picture looked different in the province of Baluchistan, where some fear the Taliban will flee during the military operation. Here, similar percentages said the Taliban's influence is positive (21 per cent ) as said its influence is negative (22 per cent ) and the highest percentage of any region (58 per cent ) said they did not know or would not say. Relief agencies estimate that the number of Pakistanis fleeing the Swat valley and nearby districts could soon swell to as many as 1 million, further inflating the number who have been displaced since last August. This mass exodus poses a humanitarian crisis in a country where many are already struggling to provide the basics: More than 3 in 10 Pakistanis told Gallup that there had been times when they could not afford food for their families in the last year and nearly 2 in 10 said they had been unable to buy adequate shelter. In NWFP, roughly a third of residents said they were unable to afford food or shelter at times. Dawn :Wednesday May 13 ,2009
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