ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: Support for President Gen Pervez Musharraf has plunged since February, according to an opinion poll published on Wednesday, while a think-tank warned that his bid to retain power could fuel ‘religious radicalism’.

The latest poll, conducted by the Washington-based International Republican Institute, found dissatisfaction with the president has surged this year — with 63 per cent of respondents calling for him to quit — along with a strong rise in support for his political rivals.

The poll also showed a rising sense of insecurity in the country, and widespread concern that religious extremism was a serious problem.

The poll was based on interviews with 4,000 randomly selected adults in cities and villages across Pakistan

The institute gave a margin of error of plus or minus 1.58 percentage points for the poll, which was conducted between mid-June and early July.

“Voters are increasingly pessimistic about the economy, their security, and the direction of the country,” with most blame directed at the government, the institute said in its analysis of the poll results. “President Musharraf is also personally bearing the brunt of voter anger.”

The poll found 72 per cent of respondents did not support President Musharraf's decision in March to suspend Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry.

Gen Musharraf’s approval rating — those respondents who thought he was doing a good job — slipped to 34 per cent in June from 54 per cent in February, the poll said. His disapproval rate rose to 49 per cent in June from 26 per cent in February.

One-third of respondents said they supported him being re-elected, down from half in February. Opposition to his re-election rose to 64 per cent in June from 40 per cent in February.

‘A MATTER OF TIME’: A Brussels-based think tank, the International Crisis Group, said in its latest report on Pakistan that the end of President Musharraf's government was ‘a matter of time’, but that he ‘is showing a dangerous determination to cling to power at all costs’.

“The choice this election year is stark,” said Bob Templer, the group’s Asia director. “Support for a return to genuine democracy and civilian rule, which offers the prospect of containing extremism, or continued support of a slide into a failing state that will export Islamic radicalism domestically, regionally and beyond,” he said in a statement.

If the president tries to rig the elections or proclaims emergency rule, it could lead to street demonstrations and violent clashes with the military, the report warned.—AP