ISLAMABAD, 1 January 2004 — Fewer Pakistanis are optimistic about their country’s future than a year ago, a private group survey has found. Gallup Pakistan said 41 percent of respondents expressed hope about 2004, compared with 47 percent in a similar survey last year.
It said nearly half of Pakistanis in the latest poll were either unsure about their future or believed their situation would not change in the new year. The survey, which quizzed 1,200 Pakistanis, asked the question: “Would you say the coming year will be better, worse or the same as the one which is just ending?”
Only 12 percent said the new year would be worse. Twenty eight percent said it be just like 2003 and 19 percent said they did not know how 2004 would unfold. The survey was part of a global poll conducted by Gallup International in 60 countries across five continents, Gallup Pakistan chairman Ijaz Shafi Gilani said.
Pakistan figured 25th on the hope index, while it neighbor and arch rival India proved more positive, ranking seventh.
