Click to play videoNew Delhi: On Pakistan's Independence Day, President Pervez Musharraf has admitted that his popularity has hit an all-time low.
"Yes, my popularity has been reduced. Yes, I agree with you," Musharraf candidly admitted during a question and answer session with a select audience on the state-run television channel PTV.
The first ever joint Indo-Pak poll by CNN IBN-Indian Express-Dawn has also revealed that the General is losing ground.
According to the poll, 30 per cent people said that he should continue, 55 per cent said that he should quit while 15 per cent people had no opinion on the matter.
When asked whether they were satisfied with Musharraf's performance as President, 44 per cent people said that they were satisfied, but 56 per cent people said that they were not satisfied with his performance.
The poll also showed that 36.2 per cent disapproved his claims of reducing corruption and a staggering 56 per cent said he failed in keeping terrorism and extremism under control.
Musharraf admitted that his popularity has come down but refused to apportion the blame on his advisers.
"The fault lies here who has taken the advice and accepted it. I am not the leader to turn around the person saying you stupid man you did all this wrong. I have been stupid to accept that advise. That is not the leadership I exercise," he said to a question on whether he is putting blame on his advisors for the slump in popularity.
As his popularity slid, Musharraf, who is gearing to get re-elected in uniform by the present Assemblies next month, launched a new series on PTV during which he would appear on a weekly show to answer questions from selected panelists.
Past tense for Mush
In recent weeks, US presidential hopefuls have said they would consider launching military strikes against terrorists in Pakistan if intelligence warranted it and if Musharraf did not act on his own.
US government officials have not ruled out such strikes, which Pakistan views as a potential breach of its sovereignty.
Meanwhile, Musharraf said that US President George Bush had assured him of Pakistan's sovereignty.
"I am fully confident and very sure that there will be no action across the border, and if there is any action it will be taken by Pakistani forces," Musharraf said.
"I am 200 per cent sure that these threats, there are no threats at the official, government-level," he added.
The Pakistani President also said that he would consider it a personal insult if someone suggested he was serving another country's interests before Pakistan's, and cited examples where he had gone against the United States' wishes.
These included his refusal to send troops to join the US-led war in Iraq, Pakistan's recognition of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, and its diplomatic relations with Iran.
“We are not fighting terrorism for the US, but for ourselves. Al-Qaeda and foreigners are spreading terrorism in the world. President Bush has assured me of Pakistan’s sovereignty,” Musharraf said.
(With agency inputs)
Watch a detailed analysis of the results and how Indians rate their leaders and government in the State of the Nation at 2200 hours IST on Tuesday on CNN-IBN.
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