85% KP residents support sending back illegal Afghan refugees

ISLAMABAD: A majority of the citizens of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province support federal government’s decision to send back illegal Afghan refugees.

This was revealed by a Gallup Pakistan survey, in which 3,000 people from the province participated.

Eighty-five percent of citizens fully supported federal government’s decision to send back illegal Afghans. Eleven percent called this decision wrong, while 4% did not answer the question.

In the survey, 79pc hoped for improvement in the security situation with the return of Afghan refugees, while 16pc disagreed with this opinion. Five percent did not answer the question.

On the question of improvement in economy of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after return of Afghan refugees, 62pc of citizens seemed to support this opinion. They said economy of the province would improve after the return of refugees.

Twenty-three percent disagreed with this opinion, while 8pc said it would not make any difference. Seven percent did not answer the question.

Public opinion was divided on impact of arrival of Afghan refugees on jobs in the province. Forty-one percent said arrival of Afghan refugees had a negative impact on jobs, while 48pc said it was positive.

Sixty-two percent praised performance of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in organising Afghan refugees, while 27pc called performance bad. Eleven percent did not answer the question.

Fifty-nine percent of citizens of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa seemed satisfied with performance of federal government. However, 35pc expressed dissatisfaction. Six percent did not answer the question.

The citizens of the province said local problems should be handled by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government instead of federal government.

In the survey, 37pc said provincial government was better at solving local problems, while 13pc said federal government was better.

For providing employment, 36pc said KP government was better than federal. Fourteen percent 14% said federal government was better.

For poverty alleviation, 34pc said provincial government was better than federal government, while 35pc said KP government was better. Twelve percent said federal government was better.

For providing health facilities, 44pc said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was better than federal, while 43pc said provincial government was better. Thirteen percent said the federation was better.

Fifty-eight percent rated performance of local governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as good, while 36pc criticised the performance. Six percent did not answer the question.

On the performance of local bodies, 66pc were satisfied with provision of clean water, 61pc with medical facilities and 58pc with road repair. The difference between percentage of people satisfied and dissatisfied with performance of local bodies in terms of sanitation arrangements, sewage drainage and maintenance of recreational places has decreased.