79% Say Solve Kashmir First

The first-ever opinion survey in Pakistan by an Indian media house

Updated on: 7 February 2024 7:06 pm

Outlook commissioned Gallup-Business Research Bureau to conduct the first-ever opinion survey in Pakistan by an Indian media house. Gallup-Business Research Bureau is the Pakistan affiliate of Gallup International, which operates in more than 60 countries across the globe. Established in 1980 in Pakistan, Gallup is today the market leader in media audience research, household consumer panels, third party evaluation studies and opinion polls. It is a member of ESOMAR, the world’s leading association of market researchers and follows the ESOMAR code of conduct.

Gallup-Outlook Opinion Poll In Pakistan
You see India as...
	Enemy	54
	Rival	31
	Potential Friend	15

Do you think it is necessary to resolve the Kashmir issue first for the establishment of peaceful relations between India and Pakistan?
	Yes	79
	No	19
	Don’t know	2

Would you accept converting the LoC into an international border as the only solution to the Kashmir problem?
	Agree	29
	Don’t Agree	69
	Don’t know	2

What do you think about Vajpayee’s recent peace initiative?
	Serious	26
	Gimmick	47
	Don’t know	27

Which of these political issues do you rank first in order of importance?
	Fundamentalism	17
	Democracy	19
	Kashmir issue	64

Would you trust the US to broker peace between India and Pakistan?
	Yes	33
	No	62
	Don’t know	5

Do you think there is a strong yearning for peace among Indians?
	Yes	62
	No	32
	Don't know	6

What is your opinion about Kargil?
	Useful operation	40
	Mistake	31
	Unavoidable	21
	Don’t know	8

In your view, should Pakistan have trade relations with India?
	Yes	63
	No	35
	Don’t know	2

Are the religious factions a roadblock to Pakistan-India relations?
	Yes	42
	No	43
	Don’t know	15

Are the political parties a roadblock to Pakistan-India relations?
	Yes	43
	No	45
	Don’t know	12

Is the Indian army and RAW a roadblock to Indo-Pak relations?
	Yes	63
	No	28
	Don’t know	9

Is the Pakistan army and ISI a roadblock to Indo-Pak relations?
	Yes	32
	No	52
	Don’t know	16

How do you rate Musharraf’s efforts in ushering peace with India?
	Serious	52
	Gimmick	23
	Don’t know	25


In your view, which one of these options is the most suitable way for resolving the Kashmir issue?
	Bilateral negotiations	UN mediation	US mediation	War
1989 January After Rajiv Gandhi’s first visit	48	23	Option not in the survey	16
August After his second visit	30	31	-	22
2001 June Before Musharraf’s Agra visit	38	23	Option not in the survey	30
July Shortly after his Agra visit	47	22	-	23
2003 August In the wake of new moves for Indo-Pak dialogue
	43	26	12	17
Rest: Don’t know/can’t say
What are the chances of war between India and Pakistan these days?
		High chance	Moderate chance	Low chance
1999 May Before Kargil and after Vajpayee’s Lahore visit		11	35	34
June In the wake of Kargil crisis		45	42	6
2001 July After Musharraf’s Agra visit		12	43	44
2002 January Deployment of Indian troops on the borders		32	53	14
2003 January Tensions on the border continuing		37	55	8
August: New initiatives on Indo-Pak dialogue had set in		6	44	47
Rest: Don’t know/can’t say
Source: Gallup Pakistan Polls (Time Series Data on Key International Issues)

Methodology

The survey was conducted among 1,338 statistically selected respondents on August 3 and 4, 2003. Nearly 50% of the sample comprised women. The sample represented a cross-section of various income and education segments of the population. There is an error margin of plus or minus 3-4 per cent at 95% confidence level. The survey covered all four provinces of the country. The sample was divided roughly proportional to the population of each province in the total national population. The fieldwork was carried out in 13 cities including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, the four provincial capitals: Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta. The other cities were, Sukkur and Hyderabad in Sindh, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujrat, Sahiwal and Sargodha in Punjab and Mardan in NWFP.