80 percent of Pakistanis consider Taliban a threat to their country: Report

October 10th, 2009 LONDON - As the US forces are fighting for stability in Afghanistan, several people have raised a vital issue whether stability in Pakistan is even more crucial. "An Afghanistan collapse will threaten the stability of this entire region - not just Pakistan, it will have a massive impact," CBS News quoted, Samina Ahmed, member of International Crisis Group, as saying.

September 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said Pakistan has realized that the Taliban and other extremists based in the western tribal area of the country pose the real existential threat to it rather than India. In an interview with a private television channel, Gates said Pakistan has acknowledged that the real threat to its existence come from the extremists based in the lawless tribal areas along the Afghan border and not from India.

August 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Majority of Pakistanis are against the suicide attacks being carried out in the country by banned terror outfits in the name of religion, a poll has revealed. According to a poll conducted by Washington's Pure Research Centre, 87 percent Pakistanis did not support the suicide attacks.

August 14th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Most Pakistanis hate the Taliban as much as they consider United States as their enemy, a recent opinion poll has reveled. According to Pew Global Attitudes poll about 70 percent of Pakistanis are now against the Taliban's violent policies.

July 2nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - About 80 percent of Pakistanis feel that Taliban is posing a "serious threat to the stability of Pakistan", a survey revealed. The survey carried out by World Public Opinion (WPO) showed that 68 percent of the respondents were satisfied with the ongoing military operation against Taliban in Swat Valley.

July 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Most Pakistanis believe that the Taliban fighters are a "critical threat" to their country and support the ongoing offensive in the Swat valley, according to a survey. An overwhelming 87 percent of Pakistanis think that the Taliban, who are fighting to overthrow the Afghan government, should not be allowed to have bases in Pakistan, showed the poll by the World Public Opinon (WPO), a US-based organisation working on public opinion on international issues.

July 1st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Most Pakistanis consider the Taliban and Al Qaeda militants as threat to the country, but still do not regard the US and President Barack Obama as friends, a poll showed Wednesday. The poll conducted by the Programme on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland last month found that those considering actions of militants as dangerous for Pakistan rose from 34 percent to 81 percent since late 2007.

July 1st, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan Army's desire to kill Indians and spare Pakistanis is making them ineffective against the Pak-Taliban, senior political scientist Christine Fair has said. The Daily Times quoted Fair of the RAND Corporation, as saying that several Pakistani officers had told her they had joined the army to kill Indians, not Pakistanis.

May 13th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - An overwhelming number of Pakistanis prefer the instability and insecurity of a democratically-elected government to stability and prosperity under a military dictatorship, a new survey has found. Seventy-three percent of those surveyed by the International Republican Institute (IRI) said the army should have no role in a civilian government while 20 percent favoured a military dictatorship.

May 12th, 2009 NEW YORK - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari may have 'impressed' the United States by announcing an all out war against the Taliban and other extremists in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), but he does not seem to have much support back home, as only 19 percent of Pakistanis approve of his move. According to an opinion poll released by the Washington based International Republican Institute, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has emerged stronger than Zardari, in the current volatile situation, as 75 percent of Pakistanis support him.

May 12th, 2009 NEW YORK - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's recent claim that he does not consider India as a threat to his country, is not at all supported by a majority of Pakistanis, an opinion poll has shown. According Washington based International Republican Institute poll, there is an intriguing split in attitude towards India, with 45 percent favourable towards India, and 52 percent unfavourable.

May 11th, 2009 LAHORE - Many Pakistanis still do not see the Taliban as a threat and are not eager for a confrontation, as the militant outfit has become a term for everything and anything. "Taliban in Pakistan has become a term for everything and anything," says Abid Suleri, head of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute.

May 2nd, 2009 KARACHI - A majority of Pakistani civilians are of the view that the presence of allied forces led by the United States poses a bigger threat to them rather than the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. According to an annual assessment report of Pakistan issued by an US think tank, Centre for American Progress, more Pakistanis consider US presence in Asia as a threat to their country.

April 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US has said on Wednesday that the Taliban are threat to the peace of world and it is not an easy task to get better of them. During a daily press briefing, the spokesman of US State Department, Robert Wood, said that the Taliban is threat to the peace of world.

April 11th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Interior Advisor Rehman Malik on Saturday asked Indian administration for intelligence sharing so that all necessary steps could be taken to prevent Taliban threat during elections. "Because the statement has come from the highest Indian authority so, we have made a request to the Indian administration for intelligence sharing so that all necessary steps could be taken to prevent Taliban threat during elections," Malik said.