By IANS
Islamabad : Most Pakistanis want President Pervez Musharraf to step down as the country’s army chief, says a survey by a US think-tank.
The survey by the International Republican Institute (IRI) found that 62 percent of respondents thought Musharraf should resign as army chief, while 59 percent said elections were unlikely to be free and fair if held while he continues to wear his uniform.
The report is the final part of a survey of Pakistan public opinion that was partly released last week.
“The poll, conducted between June 13 and July 3, 2007, is a comprehensive analysis of attitudes regarding the Pakistani political landscape,” Dawn said Friday.
The randomly selected sample consisted of 4,000 adult men and women from 256 rural and 144 urban locations from 60 districts in the four provinces of Pakistan. The margin of error would be plus-minus 1.58 percent in 19 out of 20 cases.
The institute has been conducting surveys in Pakistan since 2002, including four national polls over the past 12 months. The programme aims at gauging public opinion and using this information in IRI’s work with Pakistan’s political parties.
Forty-seven percent of those surveyed supported a pre-election power-sharing deal between former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and Musharraf, while 37 percent opposed such a move.
On the issue of the army playing a role in a civilian government, 55 percent said it should not, while 40 percent believed it should.
Significantly, 48 percent said they would support Musharraf’s re-election if he first resigned from the army, called parliamentary and provincial elections and then sought re-election from the new assemblies.