Opinion polls may be subjective to the point of being false, cooked up or otherwise controversial. But at the end of the day, they do tend to give at least some sense of direction of where a society is heading.
Take for instance a series of opinion polls conducted by Gallup Pakistan (GP) over the last month and a half.
When asked about the nature of threats faced by Pakistan, some 17 percent of those polled said Pakistan faces internal threats, 28 percent said external dangers make the country more vulnerable and around 54 percent said both.
In another poll, GP found that fears of insecurity due to robbery, mobile snatching or other such mishaps when walking in a neighbourhood have doubled in the last twenty-five years.
In 1985, half of the population polled said there was absolutely no danger of any mishap in their respective neighbourhood; today only 10 percent replied with such confidence.
Other surveys conducted last month revealed that the masses are also troubled by failed governance. When asked whether or not the governments current programmes will help raise the standard of living, some 44 percent said there are very little chances, whereas a quarter said
ot at all.
Quite naturally, therefore, the masses are depressed; though roughly 40 percent get more distressed by national crises and 59 percent by personal problems.
Yet, it comes as a surprise that politics is not a very popular choice as a profession in Pakistan, according to another poll.
Gallup Pakistan found out that more than three-fourths of those polled said they don wish to join politics, while another 50 percent said they would not continue in the profession even if they are given a chance.
Another disturbing piece of survey is that most (51 percent) believe that if a common person were given a chance in the corridors of powers; he/she would turn out as corrupt as any politician or bureaucrat currently weakening the system.
Now these opinions speak volumes about a nation, don they?
At a time, when some seasoned economists are talking about devolution and autonomy to achieve economic prosperity in the long run, this is a picture dark and gloomy. If the people of Pakistan want a change, then somebody has to tell them that the hand it is in, is theirs.
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