Majority of Pakistanis support LoC as international border

ISLAMABAD: More Pakistanis are willing to accept the conversion of the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir into an international border as a solution to the Kashmir problem, a survey indicates.

In Aug 2003, 69 per cent of Pakistanis had said a firm "No" to this conversion, but three years hence the number has fallen to 58 per cent.

Brief details of the latest finding of Outlook magazine that commissioned Gallup Pakistan, an affiliate of Gallup International, appeared in The News Sunday.

Expectedly, 53 per cent of Pakistanis see India as an "enemy". The figure is given in absolute term, with no past comparisons.

Also, a half of Pakistani city dwellers, many with their kith and kin living abroad, feel that the US is closer to India than Pakistan.

Conducted in 13 Pakistani cities, the survey is city-based and ignores the large countryside.

It was conducted on July 23 and 24 among 1,200 statistically selected households in 13 cities - Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Sukkru, Hyderabad, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujrat, Sahiwal, Sargodha and Mardan.

The sample represented a cross-section of various income and education segments of the population. There may be an error margin of plus/minus 3-4 per cent, the newspaper said.