WikiLeaks cables ‘deliberately published’ by US: Pak survey

According to survey,US diplomatic cables leaked by WikiLeaks were "deliberately published" by the US to create unrest.

Fifty-two per cent of Pakistanis believe that secret US diplomatic cables leaked by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks were “deliberately published” by America to create unrest,according to a new survey.

The survey conducted by Gallup Pakistan also showed that 53 per cent of Pakistanis were aware of the WikiLeaks episode and 63 per cent of them were of the opinion that the country has been “adversely or otherwise affected by the exposure” of the documents.

Asked about the belief among some people that the diplomatic cables were “published by America to create unrest and conflict among the Muslim countries,especially Pakistan”,52 per cent of respondents said they believed that “America herself has published the documents on purpose to create unrest”.

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Twenty-four per cent said they believed this was not so while another 24 per cent gave no response.

Fifty-three per cent said they had heard or read about the disclosures while 47 per cent said they had not.

Asked about the extent to which Pakistan has been affected by the documents published by WikiLeaks,63 per cent said the country has been affected a lot or to some extent,13 per cent said there was little affect while 11 per cent said there was no effect at all.

A statement issued by Gallup Pakistan said its analysts believed that “widespread and cross-national knowledge about WikiLeaks presents an interesting case of growing reach and thus power of media in Pakistan”.

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The poll shows a “deep seated continued distrust that exists between” Pakistan and the US,the statement said.

The study conducted by Gallup Pakistan,the Pakistani affiliate of Gallup International,among a sample of 2,741 men and women in rural and urban areas of all four provinces of Pakistan during December 2010.

Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership were shaken by the embarrassing disclosures made in the diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.

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