The majority of respondents to a poll of 1,039 Pakistani residents believe that Osama Bin Laden was not killed in the recent US raid on the compound near Abbottabad, Pakistan. In addition, three quarters of respondents disapprove of US actions in hunting Bin Laden on Pakistani soil.
- 66% of respondents say Bin Laden was not killed in the US raid
- 75% disapprove of the US action; 11% approve
- 52% think that the celebrations in the US following the announcement of Bin Laden’s death will incite further violence against the US
- 52% think that people in Pakistan will be more at risk from attacks by Al Qaeda as a result of the death of Osama Bin Laden
Pakistani fears that both the US and their own country has become less safe since the announcement of Bin Laden’s death are largely mirrored by views of people in the US.
In addition to the above findings, this survey also examined Pakistani perceptions of Bin Laden himself:
- 48% think he was ‘not a true Muslim leader’
- 52% think he will now be seen as a ‘Martyr of Islam’, to at least certain groups
- 22% think he authorised the 9/11 attacks, with 46% thinking Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda had nothing to do with the attacks
Fieldwork was undertaken 4th May - to 5th May 2011. The survey was carried out online and is broadly representative of the online population in Pakistan. Total sample size was 1,039 Pakistani residents.
See the survey details and full results here
YouGov@Cambridge is a new kind of university think-tank, uniting world experts with YouGov polling in one place. For a full analysis of these results by Dr Joel Faulkner Rogers visit YouGov@Cambridge.
