51pc of Pakistanis hold favourable opinion of PM Khan's overall performance: poll

Published January 26, 2019
A Gallup survey has found that 51 per cent Pakistanis have a favourable opinion of PM Khan. — File
A Gallup survey has found that 51 per cent Pakistanis have a favourable opinion of PM Khan. — File

More than half of Pakistan has a favourable opinion of Prime Minister Imran Khan's overall performance after his first five months in power, a new poll conducted by Gallup Pakistan and the Gilani Foundation suggests.

As part of the survey, a representative sample of 1,141 people was asked, “What is your opinion on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s overall performance up until now, i.e., since his winning the 2018 elections?”

According to the survey's findings, 38 per cent of Pakistanis rated the premier's performance as "good", whereas another 13pc had a "very good" opinion of whatever he's been up to.

Read: Jury out on PTI’s performance amid claims, counterclaims

In total, 51pc of the sampled people held a favourable opinion of the prime minister's performance, who assumed the top office on August 18 last year following his party's triumph in the general elections the previous month.

Meanwhile, 26pc people had a "bad" opinion of the PM's performance, whereas 20pc had a "very bad" view. Three per cent did not know or did not wish to respond.

Urban respondents, according to the survey's results, were found to be significantly more upbeat about PM Khan's tenure.

From among urban respondents, 15 per cent were of the view that the prime minister's performance has been very good up until now, while 44pc said that it had been good. Twenty-three per cent termed it 'bad', 16pc termed it 'very bad', and 2pc did not know or did not wish to respond.

Meanwhile, from among rural respondents, only 12pc said that the prime minister's performance had been very good, 35pc said that it had been good, 27pc opined that it had been bad, 22pc said that it had been very bad, while 4pc did not know or did not wish to respond.

The age-wise breakdown found that PM Khan enjoys a better approval rating among millennials, with 65 per cent of the respondents under the age of 30 holding a favourable opinion of him.

However, the prime minister's popularity takes a massive hit in the 50-plus age bracket, with a combined 51 per cent of them believing that his performance has been either "bad" or "very bad".

The prime minister's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had received 16.85 million (almost 32 per cent) of the total 53m votes cast in the 2018 general elections.

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