“Political dictatorship and social hopelessness create the desperation that fuels religious extremism.”

Military hardliners called me a ‘security threat’ for promoting peace in South Asia and for supporting a broad-based government in Afghanistan.

So he manipulates and dangles some kind of carrot in front of the world all the time. This is not good for the people [of Pakistan], and I think the world has got it all wrong.

The forces of moderation and democracy must, and will, prevail against extremism and dictatorship. I will not be intimidated… Despite threats of death, I will not acquiesce to tyranny, but rather lead the fight against it.

What is not recorded is not remembered.

It’s never easy dealing with terrorists, but it must be done through a mixture of political, economic and administrative means.

Democracy needs support and the best support for democracy comes from other democracies. Democratic nations should come together in an association designed to help each other and promote what is a universal value – democracy.

In a way, a jail is a place where you can rest, read books and live with yourself.

Right now, they feel they have lost their voice, and their miseries have increased since my departure.

The Internet is the great equalizer.The technology which emanated from the Silicon Valley of California has more potential to ameliorate social inequality than any development in the history of the world, including the industrial revolution.

The Holy Book calls upon Muslims to resist tyranny. Dictatorships in Pakistan, however long, have, therefore, always collapsed in the face of this spirit.

The next few months are critical to Pakistan’s future direction as a democratic state committed to promoting peace, fighting terrorism and working for social justice.

I know death comes. I’ve seen too much death, young death.

I’m not into smoke-filled rooms. I don’t have the time for byzantine political intrigues.

Freedom is not an end. Freedom is a beginning.

We learned at an early age that it was men’s interpretation of our religion that restricted women’s opportunities, not our religion itself. Islam in fact had been quite progressive toward women from its inception.

America’s greatest contribution to the world is its concept of democracy, its concept of freedom, freedom of action, freedom of speech, and freedom of thought.

First would be the literary side, then the spiritual and philosophical. The political side is required principally because of the necessity of the current Russian position.

Political decisions are never random and will always lose out to innovative alternatives.

People in our so-called Rust Belt have lost out, and politics and society have not been responsive either in providing the kind of additional support they need or to retrain them for jobs that are being created in the new economy.

We have two political parties in this country, the Stupid Party and the Evil Party. I belong to the Stupid Party.

I cannot conceive of a politically feasible solution to this problem which will overdo cutting the deficit, where overdoing means harming the economy. It might be technically possible, but it is not realistic.

I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.

If you get beyond the political rhetoric [and assembled a group to solve Social Security] it would take them 15 minutes. It would take them 15 minutes only because 10 minutes was used for pleasantries.

I don’t think there’s any one definition, but to do effective political work you have to have vision and practicality, and learn how to persuade people that what you feel needs to be done does need to be done.