Indians and Pakistanis view each other as greatest threat, survey finds

A large section of Indians and Pakistanis view each other as their greatest threat, reflecting the deep-entrenched distrust between the two neighbours, a new survey has found.

According to American think tank Pew Research, 54% of surveyed adults in India described Pakistan as their greatest geopolitical threat, followed by China at 21%.

Similarly, 43% of Pakistanis saw India as their greatest threat while 24% each held the same views about Israel and China.

Pakistanis clearly point to China (75%) as their most important ally and, to a lesser degree, to Saudi Arabia (12%). About a third of Indians say Russia is their top ally (36%), while 16% name the U.S. Roughly a third of Indians did not answer the question.

Despite the camaraderie between U.S. President Donald Trump and Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir, only 15% of Pakistanis hold a favourable opinion about the U.S. An overwhelming 90% had a favourable view about China.

Pew Research found that only 12% of Pakistanis had confidence in Mr. Trump to do the right thing in world affairs, while 83% held similar views about China’s President Xi Jinping.

Indians held much more positive views of Russia (58% favourable) and President Vladimir Putin (51% confidence) than Pakistanis do — 39% and 32% respectively.

Just 23% of Indians view China positively, while 25% trust Xi Jinping’s global leadership.

45% of surveyed Indians viewed the U.S. favourably, while 39% expressed more confidence in Mr. Trump.

In South Asia

The survey among adults in four South Asian nations – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka threw up varying results.

An overwhelming majority of Sri Lankans (79%) express a positive view of India, compared with 42% of Bangladeshis and 7% of Pakistanis.

63% of Sri Lankans name India as their most important ally, while Bangladeshis and Pakistanis most often name India as their greatest threat.

U.S. view on India

In the U.S., 45% of Americans view India favourably, while 50% view it unfavourably.

As many as 50% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents have a favourable view of India, compared with 42% of Republicans and Republican leaners.

Over 54% of Americans surveyed say that India’s global influence in recent years has stayed about the same, while 30% say it is getting stronger. Another 13% say India’s influence has been getting weaker.