A new poll has found that Pakistanis are less afraid that their country will be taken over by extremists, and feel less threatened by the Taliban as compared to last year.

According to the Pew Global Attitudes Project poll, in 2009, 69 percent people were very or somewhat worried about extremist groups taking control of Pakistan.

In 2010, just 51 percent of Pakistanis expressed such concerns.

Overall, the poll suggests that the Pakistanis are in a "grim mood" about the state of their country, despite fear of the Taliban and other extremist groups declining in the past year.

Some 54 percent of Pakistanis see the Taliban as a serious threat, down from 73 percent a year ago, when the Pakistani military was fighting the Taliban within 100 miles of Islamabad, the BBC reports.

The poll surveyed 2,000 Pakistanis, and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent. (ANI)