The West weary of Pakistan’s stability

A recently released poll by Pew Research Centre shows that the West  is getting  increasingly weary of the stability in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  The survey respondents hailing from the United States and Western Europe believe that the Islamic extremists are likely to take control of Pakistan by displacing the civilian government.

64% respondents in the United States, 68% in Italy, 65% in Great Britain, and 67% in France agreed with the statement that the extremists are gaining influence in Pakistan.  Even a larger percentage of respondents considered Taliban to be a major threat for Afghanistan.

Most respondents believed that an Islamic extremist takeover of Pakistan would not bode well for their countries.

There appears to be a split between the eastern and western European countries in their perception of the threat emerging from Pakistan.  The western European countries are much more concerned about the stability in Pakistan than their eastern European counterparts.

Despite the recognition of an alarming situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, most European countries support moving troops from Afghanistan.  However, the majority of the opinion in the United States still support keeping troops in Afghanistan.  While the opposition to keeping troops in Afghanistan is not as strong in some eastern European countries as it is in western European countries, the majority of the opinion, without exception, amongst European countries support removing troops from Afghanistan.