Support for Militancy in Pakistan
At the most basic level this survey arguably provides the most valid measurement of how Pakistanis feel towards militant groups obtained thus far. Figure 2(the graph TurthSeeker posted) reports our core results, showing the difference in support for policies between control and treatment groups for the entire country and then for each of the four provinces.
The striking result here is that Pakistanis are generally negative towards Islamist militant organizations. This negative affect is revealed by our measurement strategy and is a substantial improvement on the deeply ambiguous findings of previous surveys. A July 2009 survey by World Public Opinion.org, for example, found that 80% of respondents in the NWFP felt that al-Qa’ida’s activities posed a “critical threat” to the “vital interests of Pakistan”, yet 47% agreed that they “supported al-Qa’ida attacks on Americans and share its attitude towards the U.S.” What one should make of such findings is unclear, there seems to be a deep inconsistency in these responses. In contrast, our finding that no group’s endorsement had a positive effect on evaluation of policies is a striking demonstration that Pakistanis, on average, do not like the militant organizations operating in their country.