Our only response to the poll is Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Tell me another one–a rabbi, a priest and a minister walked into a bar…oh! stop it–the other one about Indian popularithy in Afghanistan is funnier!
It will take more than poll run by companies funded by Delhi to convince the world that Bharat (aka India) is popular among the Taliban. If Delhi is the favorite capital of the Taliban, then the moon is made of cheese, the tooth fairy is for real, Santa Caluse lives on the North Pole, the earth is flat, Maralyn Monroe died a virgin, and Ivana trump married for love.
We challenge the citizens of the “most popular country in Afghanistan to travel from Mazar e Sharif to Kabul to Torkham in a convertible Volkswagen with an Indian flag on top. Let us see how far they get. That surely would be great proof of the popularity of Indians who are hated from Bangladesh, to Nepal, to Pakistan to China to Bhutan–to Australia.
The Bharatis (aka Indians) must have been advised by some slick people to come with this farcical result. Bharat (aka India) coming on top of the list of countries liked by the Taliban—that will be the day.
Delhi has first funded ASCOR, D3 and BBSS–then it asked them to conduct a poll in areas controlled by ISAF and NATO. So the only access the pollsters had were to people of the choosing of the pollsters.
The Afghan Center for Socio-Economic and Opinion Research (ACSOR-Surveys) was founded in 2003 by D3 Systems, Inc. and BBSS, a TNS affiliate. ACSOR is the only registered commerical market and opinion research agency in Afghanistan. ACSOR-Surveys conducts qualitative and quantitative research projects for a mix of international and Afghan clientle. Some of our clients include the United Nations Development Programme, the Asia Foundation, ABC News, the BBC, Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, the British Council, RTI International, Environics, Macro International, Areeba-MTN telecommunications, as well as various Afghan and foreign government ministries. D3 Sytesm site.
The Times of India in a tongue in cheek artilce brags about the popularity of Bharat among the Afghan Pakhtuns (mostly Taliban).
NEW DELHI: No prizes for guessing which country is going to eat its heart out over this. A domestic poll in Afghanistan commissioned by international agencies has found that an astonishing 71% of Afghans believe that India, among all countries active in the country, is playing the most positive role in the rehabilitation of Afghanistan. Poll: TNN, 21 January 2010, 03:08am ISTText Size:|Topics: India, afghanistan
If you believe that Bharat (aka India) is popular among the Taliban, we have a bridge in Brooklyn that we can sell you. If you think that the Taliban who control 80% of Afghanistan love those who follow Buddha then we have some swamp land in Florida that we can sell you.
In a double whammy for Pakistan, only 2% of the 1,500 Afghans who participated in the poll voted in favour of Pakistan. In fact, the Taliban fared better with 3%. Times of India: Poll TNN, 21 January 2010, 03:08am IST
If Delhi thinks that it can convince the gullible into believing that it has popular support among the Taliban, then I would like to sell you the Taj Mahal
The poll, held by Afghan Centre for Socio Economic and Opinion Research and commissioned by agencies like BBC, ABC and German TV ARD, cut across all ethnic and geographical divides. The poll was carried out in all 43 provinces between December 11 and 23 last year. India was followed by Germany (59%), the US (51%), Iran (50%) and Britain (39%).
For India, it’s recognition of the massive aid and relief work which it has carried out in Afghanistan even in the face of stiff opposition by Pakistan which has used its clout with the US to raise doubts over India’s relief work. Times of India: Poll TNN, 21 January 2010, 03:08am IST
The “massive” reliev effort is a joke. Bharat built the Zarjan road, and it is already unusable with all the bridges blown to bits. The Taliban control the road, and ISAF does not.
Pakistan has spent $500 million in Afghanistan, and provides logistical support to the Afghan lifeline–water, food, equipment, appliances all go through Pakistan at subsidised not internal tariff rates. Pakistan’s contribution to Afghanistan is ten times what Delhi could ever hope to do for the Afghans. Islamabad hosted 3 million Afghan refugees for more than a decade in Pakistan. Even today, Pakistan hosts about 2 million refugees, many of whom live near Quetta–and some may constitute the much maligned Quetta Shura.
India has pledged over $1.2 billion for a wide array of reconstruction activities ranging from education to building roads, bridges, power stations to digging tubewells and grassroot development projects. This obviously has generated a lot of goodwill among ordinary Afghans for India. Times of India: Poll TNN, 21 January 2010, 03:08am IST
Pledging $1.2 Billion over a decade adds up to $100 million per year. Most of this is spent on Indian companies working in Afghanistan–so the money actually flows back to India.
In contrast to India–which actively supported the USSR when it invaded Afghanistan, Pakistan worked with the Afghans to defeat the Soviet Union. India was on the wrong side of history then, and it is on the wrong side of history now. Pakistan supported the Afghan mujahideen then and it supports the Afghan people now–and the 3 million Afghans who were born in Pakistan know it well.
The poll has called Pakistan’s bluff categorically dismissing Islamabad’s contention that India’s growing profile in Afghanistan was part of the problem, and not the solution. It’s based on in-person interviews with a random national sample of 1,534 Afghan adults during that period. Times of India: Poll TNN, 21 January 2010, 03:08am IST
Bharat’s imperialistic designs in Central Asia are well known to one and all. Bharat was recently kicked out of Tajikistan where it was trying to establish a permanent military base. The dozens of Bharati Consulates are not present in Afghanistan to stamp a dozen visas per year–they conduct sabotage facilities using mercenaries.
The poll also brought to the fore the growing unpopularity of the Taliban in Afghanistan with only 6% of people polled saying they favoured a Taliban administration. Ninety per cent said they wanted their country run by the current government. Times of India: Poll TNN, 21 January 2010, 03:08am IST
These polls are a joke. They may help to convince dumb and dumber about the greatness of one of the poorest nations on the planet (where 75% of the population lives under $2 per day), but the polls do not convince serious analysts of anything.
A Gallup poll last year in November had said that 56% preferred India’s role in the reconstruction of the country, while 51% preferred the UN, 44% Nato, 30% Pakistan and 42% Iran. Pointing out that India is the largest regional donor in Afghanistan, the poll report said, “The country’s increasing visibility in reconstruction and development efforts is evident in the roles Afghans see the country as playing and think India should play.” The Gallup data further showed that one in seven Afghans identified India’s current role in economic development and said India should continue to play this role. TOI. 71% of Afghans say India playing most positive role in country: Times of India: Poll TNN, 21 January 2010, 03:08am IST
The bluster and the rhetoric of the Times of India and other Indian media cannot help it justify Bharati troops in Afghanistan. As soon as the troops and trainer arrive, they will find out how popular the tri-colored Indian flag is in Kabul.
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