66pc Pakistanis feel inflation became Imran govt’s Achilles heel

KARACHI: An increasingly larger number of 66 per cent of Pakistanis feel the red hot inflation turned into Imran Khan’s government’s proverbial Achilles heel leading to his departure.

Similarly, the number of respondents to a Gallup Pakistan opinion poll, who strongly felt of US involvement in dislodging the PTI government has also dropped to 34 pc from a high of

36 pc. At the same time 60pc rejected the opposition being branded as traitors.

The Gallup Pakistan conducted the new survey from April 10-11 from 1000 urban-rural households comprising male, female respondents over 18 years. A predominant 66pc people have rejected the notion of a US hand behind the no-confidence motion against Imran and they believe it is rather inflation that hastened his exit.

Previously, on April 3-4, 64 per cent of respondents of a Gallup poll had disagreed with the PTI government’s ‘Lettergate’ narrative and had insisted inflation was responsible for the undoing of the PTI government.

Similarly, the number of respondents conceding to the US role in dislodging PTI government also dropped to 34 pc (April 3-4) from 36pc (April 10-11). As much as 69pc respondents of the survey favoured early elections, whereas 31pc supported holding elections in 2023. Similarly, 60pc people rejected labelling opposition as ‘traitors’.

This perception was near-unanimous across KP, Sindh and Punjab with 65pc respondents in KP and Sindh and 58 pc in Punjab rejected the allegation. But a substantive 40 pc respondents agreed with the notion.