WORLD BRIEFING / PAKISTAN

Pakistanis’ views on the Taliban have shifted dramatically in the last year, with 70% now opposing the militants, according to a new poll. But the United States doesn’t fare well either, with 64% of Pakistanis seeing Washington as an enemy.

The mounting unpopularity of the Taliban coincides with an explosion of militant violence in Pakistan -- more than 2,500 people have been killed in attacks since the start of 2008 -- and the extremists’ attempts to expand their reach and impose a harsh interpretation of Islam in parts of the country.

Pew Global Attitudes, a project of a nonpartisan research center based in Washington, released the poll. It conducted face-to-face interviews with 1,254 Pakistanis in late May and early June, mostly in urban areas. It conducts a similar poll each year.

In 2008, 27% of Pakistanis surveyed had a favorable view of the Taliban, and 33% saw them unfavorably. The rest had no opinion.

A year later, only 10% approved of the Taliban. About 70% disapproved. The numbers for Al Qaeda followed a similar trajectory, with support for the terrorist network at 9%.