Islamabad: Pakistanis feel that President Pervez Musharraf should hold only one office and want former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to return from exile.
Most Pakistanis favour Musharraf, but they want him to be either the President or the Army Chief, says an opinion poll conducted in Pakistan by the International Republican Institute (IRI), a research organisation of the US Republican Party.
The survey, which was published by the Dawn newspaper, found that two-thirds of Pakistanis want to see exiled leaders return to the country and take part in elections.
Bhutto topped the rating with 18 per cent for the Prime Minister's job. Present Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz got 15 per cent and Nawaz Sharif 13 per cent.
The survey, which was conducted in May and June, said 77 per cent people think the country needs a very strong and popular leader. As many as 48 per cent said Musharraf should not hold two offices simultaneously.
However, nearly two-thirds of the respondents approve of the way Musharraf is handling his job. Sixty per cent of the people want a parliamentary system instead of presidential system. Still, half of the respondents consider the role of the army in civilian government as necessary.
A total of 3,046 adult Pakistanis, both men and women, from nearly 200 villages and 150 urban locations from all four provinces were randomly selected and interviewed for the poll.
According to the poll, the US Government and its nationals, Al Qaeda and feudal lords are the most disliked foreign and local groups while the ulema and civilian governments are the most liked.
In the political party ratings at the national level, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) stood first with 23 per cent followed by Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 22 per cent, the PML-N headed by Sharif with 16 per cent, the Muthahida Quamove Movement (MQM) 12 per cent and Islamist Muthahida Majlist Amal (MMA) only seven per cent.
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However, the PML and the PML-N lead the favourability ratings in Punjab (32 per cent and 21 per cent respectively), the PPP in Sindh (44 per cent), and the MMA in NWFP (17 per cent) and Balochistan (30 per cent).
Peoples' perception about the present government's performance is divided. Thirty-seven per cent say the current coalition has done its job well and deserves re-election, while another 35 per cent oppose it.
At an individual level, the president and the prime minister received good ratings for their performance, especially from Sindh province, but another finding rated the government's performance on most issues as poor, with crime, terrorism, employment and provincial autonomy receiving the worst scores.
A majority of respondents do not believe in the ability of Musharraf's regime to hold transparent elections and are of the view that a caretaker setup will be more capable.
It is generally believed that religious parties, particularly Jamaat-i-Islami, are more organised and were more in touch with their voters.
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