55pc Pakistanis happy at Taliban govt in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: More than half of Pakistan has a favourable opinion of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, a new poll conducted by Gallup Pakistan suggests.

As part of the survey, a representative sample of more than 2,400 people was asked, “Are you happy with the formation of Taliban government in Afghanistan?” According to the survey's findings, 55 percent of Pakistanis stated they were "happy", whereas 25 percent were "unhappy" about the Taliban rule and 20 percent had "no response". In total, 55 percent of the sampled people were happy with the establishment of a Taliban government, who took over Afghanistan on August 15. The province-wise breakdown found that the strongest support for the Taliban government was in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), where 65 percent respondents said they were "happy" with the Taliban government. After that, 55 percent were from Balochistan, while 54 percent were from Punjab and Sindh, who expressed happiness over the formation of the Taliban government in Afghanistan. From among urban respondents, 59 percent were "happy" with the formation of the Taliban government and 20 percent said they were "unhappy".

Meanwhile, from among rural respondents, 53 percent people said they were "happy" while, 28 percent people were "unhappy".

The age-wise breakdown found that 68 percent people over the age of 50 supported the formation of a Taliban government. Among the remaining respondents, 55 percent of those aged 30 to 50 and 52 percent that were 30 years or below expressed happiness at the formation of the Taliban government.

The survey — which was conducted from August 13 to September 5 —revealed that 58 percent of men surveyed said they were "happy" with the formation of the Taliban government. Among women, the rate was 36 percent.