Anti-American sentiment in Pakistan has been evident through public demonstrations, general public opinion of USA being a morally corrupt nation and anti

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ma ...

and burning of the

flag of the United States The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the c ...

. When measured in 2009 Pakistan was amongst the countries with the strongest such antipathy. Pakistanis have the least favorable view of USA compared to any other major country, as per various surveys. Americans are seen as vain, unislamic, invaders, inhumane and morally corrupt. According to

Anatol Lieven Anatol Lieven is a British author, journalist, and policy analyst best known for his expertise on the Taliban of Afghanistan. He is currently a visiting professor at King's College London and senior fellow at the Quincy Institute for Respons ...

, anti-American sentiment in Pakistan is characterised more by religious undertones mixed with political hostilities rather than racial undertones. USA is seen as an usurper of Islamic hegemony over world as deemed by

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", a ...

. Though, maybe not as justification but at least to understand the situation, America's actions for money and power (economic and political) has influenced indirectly and directly the death of millions of Muslims in Muslim-majority countries. Such a view can be historically evidenced and defended. The idea is that, though there may be some aggressive people and groups, they represent a minuscule percentage of the Muslim societies, they are clear anomalies. People are 'just living their lives', and then when America decides to apply force, they don't value Muslim lives as much as they would others, whether consciously or unconsciously. Due to these, movements like ‘The

war on terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

’ and their people, are seen in some ways as the terrorists themselves by causing, literally, terror. Reasons for unpopularity have included cultural issues and US foreign policy actions. Cultural grievances have been perceived affronts to Islam by US citizens. Unpopular foreign policy actions have included U.S. military actions on Pakistani soil such as drone attacks, the operation to kill Osama Bin Laden and the

2011 NATO attack in Pakistan The 2011 NATO attack in Pakistan (also known as the Salala incident, Salala attack or 26/11 attacks) was a border skirmish that occurred when United States-led NATO forces engaged Pakistani security forces at two Pakistani military checkpo ...

, as well CIA activities such as the

Raymond Allen Davis incident Raymond Allen Davis is a former United States Army soldier, private security firm employee, and contractor with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). On January 27, 2011, Davis shot two men in the back, killing both, in Lahore, Pakistan. At l ...

, and the perceived inadequate US response to the

humanitarian crisis A humanitarian crisis (or sometimes humanitarian disaster) is defined as a singular event or a series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety or well-being of a community or large group of people. It may be an internal or extern ...

of the

2010 Pakistan floods The floods in Pakistan began in late July 2010, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and, Balochistan regions of Pakistan, which affected the Indus River basin. Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's tot ...

. A 2014

Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and th ...

poll suggested that 59% of Pakistanis viewed the United States either very unfavorably or somewhat unfavorably, down from 80% in 2012. During the

2022 Pakistani constitutional crisis A political and constitutional crisis emerged in Pakistan from, 3 April 2022 to 10 April 2022 when, National Assembly's Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri dismissed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan during a session in which ...

, PTI leader

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confiden ...

named the United States as the country in question over a 'threatening letter' and blames America for his downfall, according to a survey by Gallup Pakistan, most Pakistanis were ‘angry’ about the removal of Khan as prime minister, and close to a majority believe his claims that his downfall was due to an American ‘regime change’ campaign.

References

External links

Anti-Americanism and Radicalization: A Case Study of Pakistan
by Khuram Iqbal (2010)

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Pakistan–United States relations {{pakistan-stub

See also

References

External links