(This is Part Seven of a series that analyses the results of an ambitious survey conducted across India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh to try and find out what citizens of the three independent sovereign republics think about each other, about the state of democracy in their country; about gender, religious and ethnic freedom; achievements and failures and about institutions among others.)
Going by conventional wisdom, Pakistan is yet neither a “basket case” of economically bankrupt, nor politically a “failed state”. Countries with worse economic crises than Pakistan have staged remarkable turnarounds. And similarly, with functional institutions still intact, Pakistan is not remotely in a situation that confronts countries like Syria, Yemen, or even Venezuela.
Yet, it is tottering at the edge of the precipice. This was evident from responses of Pakistanis during an exclusive survey conducted by CVoter in collaboration with the Centre for Policy Research (CPR). The ambitious survey was planned and executed in the latter half of 2022 to mark 75 years of independence and the partition of India into two nation-states (Bangladesh becoming the third one officially in 1972). The results of the survey have provided a wealth of data and insights for analysts, scholars, and policymakers to use.)