Half of Respondents (52%) Believe the Corruption Charges Against Imran Khan Were True

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested on May 9, 2023, on corruption charges. Imran Khan’s arrest has sparked a wave of protests across the country, with Khan’s supporters demanding his release.

Khan has denied the charges against him, calling them politically motivated. He has also accused the current government of being corrupt and incompetent. Imran Khan’s arrest has further polarized Pakistan’s political landscape. Khan’s supporters see him as a victim of a coup, while his opponents see him as a corrupt politician who is trying to avoid justice.

Imran Khan’s arrest is a major development in Pakistan’s political history. It remains to be seen what the long-term consequences of the arrest will be.

Real Research, an online survey app, launched a survey on the arrest of former Pakistan leader Imran Khan to gather the motive behind Imran Khan’s arrest.

Highlights:

• A majority of respondents (61.23%) are aware of Imran Khan’s arrest.
• 25.07% think the arrest was politically motivated.
• Half of the respondents think the corruption allegations were true.

At the beginning of our poll, we questioned the participants if they were aware of Imran Khan’s arrest for corruption. 38.77% were not aware, compared to 61.23% who were.

In the following poll, respondents indicate the reasons behind Khan’s arrest. 25.07% said the arrest was politically motivated, compared to 23.44% who said the arrest had no motive and was due to his corruption charges. Meanwhile, 29.86% said the arrest was both politically motivated and due to his corruption charges.

21.63% of respondents remained unsure.

Imran Khan’s Arrest Sparks Political Turmoil in Pakistan

Imran Khan has been facing a number of corruption and sedition charges since he was ousted from power in April 2022. The charges include:

• Allegedly receiving land as a bribe in return for political favors.
• Failure to disclose profits from selling gifts he had received on foreign visits.
• Allegedly inciting violence during his protests against the current government.

Khan has denied all of the charges against him, calling them politically motivated. He has also accused the current government of being corrupt and incompetent.

We asked our respondents whether the corruption allegations were true. According to Figure 1, half of the respondents (51.55%) believed the allegations were completely true and 30.47% believed they were somewhat true.

On the other hand, 4.81% believed they were somewhat untrue and 2.35% said they were completely untrue. Meanwhile, 10.82% of the respondents remained unsure.

In the next poll, when we asked the respondents whether the amount of force used in his arrest was justifiable, 31.15% said it was somewhat justified and 26.52% said it was highly justified.

In contrast, 25.49% said it was somewhat unjustified and 9.14% said it was highly unjustified.

Meanwhile, 7.7% of the respondents remained uncertain.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court Calls Charges ‘Illegal’

Pakistan’s Supreme Court on May 11 ordered the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, ruling that his arrest on corruption charges was illegal. The Supreme Court’s ruling is a major victory for Khan and his supporters.

When we asked our respondents whether they agreed with the court’s decision, our survey results revealed that 31.31% of respondents somewhat agreed, 28.74% strongly agreed, while 20.51% somewhat disagreed, and 6.22% strongly disagreed. 13.22% were still undecided.

Next, when the respondents were asked whether Imran Khan’s arrest would negatively affect Pakistan’s economy, the majority of respondents 73.05% agreed, while 15.33% disagreed. 11.62% remained uncertain.

Lastly, the survey asked participants to list the ways in which the arrest had a negative impact on the economy. The majority of respondents (27.94%) said the likelihood of payment default would increase as a result of Pakistan’s massive foreign debt commitments, while 17.17% thought record-high inflation rates would continue to rise.

In addition, 17.13% predicted that Pakistan’s budget deficits would worsen, 15.13% that FDI would decline, and 9.65 % that the jobless rate would rise.