This is evident from the fact that the majority of comments seem to have come from the pro-military accounts and PTI accounts. But they could not maneuver the survey results beyond a certain extent.
AV Staff Writer
A survey on Twitter on December 26, 2021, shows that demand for making the Pakistani military accountable and disillusionment with how the military handles the country is growing fast. The survey was posted by a journalist — Matiullah Jan. The survey is not designed scientifically but still gives broadly real political trends. Jan asks his followers to choose one of the four following options:
End of Imran Khan government
Return of Nawaz Sharif
Policy of the [military] establishment
Accountability of the [military] establishment
Of the 24,278 people who took part in the survey 53.6 percent thought that the accountability of the establishment is the most important thing while only 14.5 percent gave more importance to the policy of the establishment. The remaining 31.8 percent of the participants chose the middle two options that indirectly go unfavorable to the role the Pakistani military plays – they want the military-supported Prime Minister Imran Khan to go and Nawaz Sharif who symbolizes opposition to the military to return.
The survey is done in Urdu – a language that is read/understood only by Pakistanis and a small part of Indian Muslims – shows the number of non-Pakistani participants are insignificant. The Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistani military have well-staffed and -funded media cells and heavy presence on the social media. One of their jobs is to offset such surveys. This is evident from the fact that the majority of comments seem to have come from the pro-military accounts and PTI accounts. But they could not maneuver the survey results beyond a certain extent. Follow us on Twitter @AlterVoices
