‘Army the most trusted institution in Pakistan’

Islamabad: Ahead of the February 8 general elections, the powerful Pakistan Army has emerged as the “most trusted institution” with 74 per cent approval ratings in a survey in which the election commission is the least trusted among eight institutions, according to a media report on Friday.

Ipsos Pakistan carried out the Political Participation Landscape of Pakistani Youth’ survey for Voice of America (VOA) in January 2024. “The sample size of the survey was 2,050 respondents. The target respondents were people aged 18-34 from across the country,” The News International newspaper said.

After the Pakistan Army, the second most trusted institution of the country is the Supreme

Court with an approval rating of 58 per cent

while the media turned out to be the third largest trusted institution. The powerful Pakistan Army, which has ruled coup-prone Pakistan for more than half of its 75-plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in matters of security and foreign policy.

Political parties’ approval rating according to the respondents is 50 per cent, the newspaper said.

Incidentally, there was a division on whether the media covers the issues that really matter, a significant 2 in 5 think it doesn’t.