Bilawal right person to lead party: survey

Published January 13, 2008

ISLAMABAD, Jan 12: More than half of Pakistanis feel that Benazir Bhutto’s son is the right person to lead her party, according to a survey.

The survey by Gallup Pakistan, which was released on Saturday, said 53 per cent of those questioned felt that the Pakistan Peoples Party had made the right decision by choosing Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as its new co-chairman.

A further 28 per cent said it was wrong and 19 per cent said they did not know.

Meanwhile, the 23 per cent of those surveyed suspected government intelligence or security agencies responsible for Ms Bhutto’s assassination. And, a further 25 per cent believed government-allied politicians were to blame.

Only 17 per cent believed the government’s official account that Al Qaeda militants were to blame.

Ms Bhutto herself accused several senior government and intelligence officials of plotting to kill her following the Oct 18 double suicide attacks on a rally welcoming her home from eight years of exile.

Twelve per cent suspected the United States, which counts President Pervez Musharraf as a key ally in the “war on terror”, and four per cent blamed Pakistan’s regional rival India.

Gallup Pakistan said it interviewed 1,300 men and women in towns and cities across Pakistan and the poll carried a margin of error of plus or minus by five percentage points.—AFP