KARACHI: Pakistanis are nostalgic about the past as much as they are optimistic about the future, reveal the findings of a Herald survey presented in a special publication that hits the market on Wednesday (today) along with the magazine’s April 2018 issue.

A vast majority of those interviewed for this survey believe that ten major fields of national life — such as economy, foreign affairs, strategic affairs, human rights, religion, arts and culture, media, law and justice, governance and politics — were best handled by the government jointly headed by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan.

The survey respondents have also given higher approval ratings to elected governments on most counts as compared to the military regimes.

While they have also acknowledged the issues that Pakistan continues to grapple with as a young developing state, most of them feel they are on a slow but steady upward path to a better life. More than 55 per cent of them feel their lives have improved in economic terms as compared to those of their parents and grandparents, with an even greater number of people expressing satisfaction in this regard in rural areas than in urban ones. Predictably, such numbers are higher for Punjab than for the other provinces.

The survey, conducted in 70 selected districts of Pakistan during July-November 2017, asked 70 different questions from 7,000 Pakistanis who represent all the four provinces as well as Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Islamabad, different genders, various localities (both urban and rural) and a number of ethnicities (as determined by the respondents’ mother languages).

Coinciding with Pakistan’s 70th birth anniversary last year, the survey aimed at highlighting Pakistani public’s opinions and perceptions about their history. Its main objective was to collect first-hand evidence on how people living in different parts of the country and coming from different sections of society view their own past and present. Some of its results confirm many previously held conceptions about Pakistan — that it’s a strongly religious society; that most of its members do not view the West favourably.

Many other findings seem to contradict some generally held views. For instance, a large number of respondents said Muslim Pakistanis were more tolerant towards their non-Muslim compatriots than towards members of the sects other than their own. Some unexpected perceptions came to light as well — that non-Muslim Pakistanis enjoy a high level of religious freedom; that protection for the rights of women and children has increased — even though news reports continue to suggest otherwise.

The survey’s findings have been analysed by leading academics and experts in all the ten fields it covers. The writers include senior journalist and human rights campaigner I.A. Rehman, historian Tahir Kamran, art critic Quddus Mirza and economist Rashid Amjad among others.

The survey was carried out with the collaboration of the British Council.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2018