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Pakistanis
Say War Unlikely
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8 out of 10 Pakistanis
dismiss war possibility |
By
IOL Correspondent Aamir Latif
KARACHI,
Jan. 5 (IslamOnline) - As troops of the nuclear-armed Pakistan and India remain
on alert along the frontier, particularly in the disputed Himalayan region of
Kashmir nearly three weeks after a guerilla attack on New Delhi’s parliament,
most Pakistanis do not anticipate either a conventional or a nuclear war between
the two countries.
However,
a few believe that intermittent skirmishes may occur between the two archrivals.
According
to a countrywide survey conducted by Gallup Pakistan, the most prestigious
institution in this field, around 80% Pakistanis belonging to different walks of
life think that the mounting tension between the two arch rivals would come to
an end gradually without any war.
Some
13% Pakistanis surveyed foresee as large-scale war, while 7% think that if it
suits America, there would be a war between the two countries, which have a
54-year long history of rivalry that sprawls from conventional wars to cricket
match.
The
two South Asian countries have fought two wars and a two-week long skirmish on
Kargil on the simmering Kashmir dispute i.e. 1n 1948, 1965 and 1999
respectively.
The
survey was conducted simultaneously in urban and rural areas. A majority of the
people who don’t see war between Pakistan and India come from Punjab and Sindh,
and Balochistan provinces, while most of the people who anticipate a war belong
to North Western Frontier Province.
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