(AKI) - A majority of Pakistanis believe that President Pervez Musharraf's popularity will increase since he stepped down as army chief and became a civilian president. According to a survey conducted by the US-based International Public Opinion Polls (IPOP), 74 percent of those surveyed said that Musharraf would get a boost in popularity as a civilian president. The survey was conducted before he resigned as chief of the armed forces and sworn in as civilian president last week. But the results were only published on Thursday. The IPOP survey was conducted among 773 people from all of Pakistan's major cities through the internet and by telephone. The poll also found that 79 percent believed that democracy would be strengthened in Pakistan after Musharraf stepped down as army chief.
“I don’t agree with such surveys," said Syed Hafizuddin, a prominent constitutional lawyer and leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party - the party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif - in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI). "The real benchmarks are different."