Only 30% approve of Musharraf as president

Islamabad: Two-thirds of Pakistanis want President Pervez Musharraf to resign and his allies will fare badly in parliamentary elections next month, according to the first major poll published since he declared emergency rule.

The US-based International Republican Institute (IRI) poll comes weeks before the January 8 election, in which parties loyal to Musharraf are battling against two main opposition leaders, former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.

The poll showed more than two-thirds of Pakistanis opposed Musharraf's move on November 3 to impose emergency rule and suspend the constitution.

"These are absolutely the worst results Musharraf has seen. He was much higher only a year ago," said Rob Varsalone, country director of IRI, which has been conducting polls in Pakistan since 2002.

Only 30 per cent of those polled approved of the job the president was doing, the poll said.

Priority

When asked who respondents thought was the best leader to handle the problems facing Pakistan, 31 per cent chose Bhutto, 25 per cent cited Sharif and 23 per cent said Musharraf.

Pakistan looks like it is heading for a hung election, which would force parties to seek alliances.

In a hypothetical election, Bhutto's party would garner 30 per cent, Sharif's party would get 25 per cent and the pro-Musharraf party would win 23 per cent, the survey said. The Islamist party alliance would only garner 3 per cent.

If the poll were translated into election results, it would be a massive blow for Musharraf.