ATP Poll Results: Grading Gen. Musharraf

Adil Najam

The grades are in. And, in the opinion of 263 ATP readers who voted, General Pervez Musharraf’s performance review yields an overall GPA (grade point average) of 2.53; right in between a grade of B- and C+.

(Click image for larger picture)

In this, the fourth ATP Poll (earlier: on womens’ rights here, on Gen. Musharraf’s future moves here, and on past leaders here), more than twice as many people voted as in the last ATP Poll. They were asked to grade Gen. Musharraf’s performance in four key areas: (a) domestic governance, (b) economy and development, (c) governance and reform, and (d) foreign affairs.

The results, based on the average in each area [using a 4-point scale where: A=4.0, B=3.0, C=2.0, D=1.0, F=0.0], is:

Domestic Governance ………… C (1.96)
Economy and Development …………B (3.04)
Governance and Reform ………… C+ (2.25)
Foreign Affairs ………… B/B- (2.88)

As we always point out, this is simply a ‘pulse of the blog’ poll and is NOT a scientific or representative survey. They are representative only of the opinions of those who voted; and of nothing more. So, lets not take it any more seriously than that. Having said that, there are a number of interesting elements in the results that are worthy of note, or at least of further discussion:

• The overall grade in each area is a broad average, but much more interesting is the distribution of the grades within each of the four areas. As with our previous Poll related to Gen. Musharraf, this distribution suggests a highly differentiated, even polarized view of his performance amongst those who voted in this Poll.
• Representative of this polarization is the fact that in each case the overall average grade lies in the middle of the range but most commonly voted grades lie at the very extreme. Indeed, in three of the four areas – “ the exception being ‘Economy and Development’, the top 2 categories are A+ and F, the two most extreme grades possible!
• While there were a significant number of readers who votes either all F’s or all A+’s, the vast majority did calibrate their performance review within the given range. It is a fair assumption that most (although not all) of these people were die-hard supporters or die-hard opponents.

• Domestic politics, quite clearly, was the area where Gen. Musharraf received the harshest assessments. Nearly a quarter of all who voted, chose to gave him an F (failing grade) in this area. One wonders what, if any, impact Nawab Akbar Bugti’s killing had on this particular grade?
• In contrast, Economy and Development is the area where he gets his highest grade (a B). He also gets the least number of F‘s (29) in this area, and also gets about twice as many A+‘s (57).
• Governance and Reform is the area where the grade distribution is (comparatively) most evenly distributed. But the second worst performance in this Poll, after Domestic Politics. The overall grade is a C+.
• In the area of Foreign Affairs the verdict seems to be most mixed. The overall average is 2.88 which lies just between a B- (2.3) and a B (3). But that is not why it is divided, it is divided because even though the highest number of A+‘s that he gets in any area is here (71, or over a quarter of all votes cast), he also gets as many as 47 F grades on Foreign Affairs. This means that just about 45 percent of all voters gave him a grade at the very extreme! One wonders how, if at all, this was affected by the fact that this Poll was taking place in the middle of his high-visibility tour to the United States?
• The calculation of the overall GPA is based on assuming that each of these four areas carries equal importance to his ‘performance’. If so, his overall GPA of 2.53 would translate to a B-/C+ performance.

Comments folks? Are these grades good? Are they bad? Do you think this is what he would get if all of Pakistan were asked? Or are you all out of touch?