Former Prime Minister Imran Khan is Most Popular Politician in Pakistan, Gallup Survey

According to the latest survey by Gallup Pakistan, former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan is the most popular politician of Pakistan till date. These results for Imran Khan have come at a time when general elections are going to be held in two provinces of the country. While a few months after the failed assassination attempt, threats of arrest are also hovering over Imran Khan’s head.

A survey conducted by Gallup Pakistan in the first three weeks of February found that 61 percent of Pakistanis approve of Imran Khan, compared to just 36 percent for his rivals, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and current foreign minister Bilawal, respectively. The popularity of Pakistanis has come to the fore.

It may be noted that Imran Khan’s government was dismissed in April 2022 through a no-confidence motion, which he accused General (Rtd) Qamar Javed Bajwa of being behind the conspiracy. Imran Khan had also accused the US of being involved in removing his government.

Key points of @GallupPak Public Pulse Feb 2023

Full Report can be accessed below

Summary of key learning in picturehttps://t.co/mePJ3CaTFe pic.twitter.com/0M0x8H5Qcv

— Bilal I Gilani (@bilalgilani) March 6, 2023

After the overthrow of his government in April last year, the majority of the people were happy with the removal, however, based on the worst economic performance of the current government, public opinion completely changed and within weeks, Imran Khan’s popularity. has reached its peak.

Survey results

According to Gallup Pakistan’s survey of the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, current Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif were the most popular politicians of Pakistan, whose popularity graph was more than 50 percent, while that of the then Prime Minister Imran Khan. Popularity had risen to 36 percent. And this was due to the poor performance of Imran Khan’s cabinet.

Inflation was cited as the main reason for the dismissal of Imran Khan’s government because his economic team had failed miserably to control inflation, because he had inherited the economic crisis and had to learn hard after assuming power. Opposition was faced.

According to a Gallup Pakistan poll conducted a few months before Imran Khan’s ouster, more than 80 percent of Pakistanis cited the economy as the biggest problem, with 64 percent citing inflation as the biggest problem. While Imran Khan came to power with the slogan of creating a new Pakistan.

Economic conditions have worsened since the Shehbaz Sharif government came to power in April 2022, and 62 percent of Pakistanis blame the Shehbaz Sharif government for inflation and the collapse of the economy.

The economic crisis has destroyed the political reputation of the Sharif family. Pakistan is facing a severe balance of payments crisis and is facing the risk of default. Foreign exchange reserves have been left to cover less than a month’s worth of imports. Inflation is currently at an all-time high and is unlikely to reach a manageable level anytime soon. The Pakistani rupee has lost more than 50 percent of its value since the no-confidence vote.

25 percentage point is a huge gap in popularity of IK on one hand & MNS, BBZ etc on the other. This is a test of tenacity & leadership for PMLN, PPP & JUI to claw back & bridge the gap! pic.twitter.com/BcLUsVvJj9

— احمد بلال محبوبAhmedBilalMehboob (@ABMPildat) March 6, 2023

According to the latest poll by Gallup Pakistan, the Sharif family’s political reputation is in tatters, with nearly 60 percent of Pakistanis viewing Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz negatively.

Uncertain political future of Pakistan

Imran Khan’s relationship with the army is bad, while the army’s relationship with former President Asif Ali Zardari and his son and current Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is on the way to improvement, but the majority of Pakistanis view them both negatively, former President Zardari is the most unpopular politician in Pakistan, with 67 percent of Pakistanis giving him bad names. While in his own Sindh province, his opposition has increased by 23%.

According to the survey, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s popularity in Sindh province has further decreased by 10%, due to which power is slipping out of his hands in the urban areas of Sindh.

Interestingly, the Gallup Pakistan survey asked respondents whether they would support a new party made up of “honest” politicians and “technocrats” – the kind of political engineering the military advocates from time to time. A slight majority – 53 percent – ​​said they would support such a setup.

The risk for Pakistan in the coming months is that its rulers may go to any lengths to keep Imran Khan out of power, the survey said.