“The attitude of the Pakistani people is very good. Whenever I release any statement or deliver any kind of speech, they respond favourably.”

Beware of those who attribute petty instructions to God.

It is my principle never to accept any donations from any government or any foreign funded organisation.

I want to create awareness amongst the common people of Pakistan and I generally appeal to the Pakistani people living here and abroad for help and they provide me with the necessary resources.

It is because of my principle that people continue to give.

My religion is humanitarianism, which is the basis of every religion in the world.

I do this work for the common people and part of that work is creating a general awareness of such problems as they exist because my work is beyond class, religion and creed.

People have become educated, but have not become human.

One time there was a student at Punjab University in Lahore who came down with cancer and his friend came to me for help. I stood outside on the street in Lahore and asked the people in that city for help. Within four or five hours, I received more than 40 million rupees [more than US $670,000].

People know that I have adopted four principles in living my life: simple living, punctuality, hard work and prudence.

The common people don’t believe this kind of religion [of islamic fundamentalists] because first and foremost they want to solve their basic problems, including human rights and economic.

You have to care for all beings created by God…My mission is to help any person in need.

No religion is higher than humanity

The basic problem affecting the Pakistan today is human rights. Islamic fundamentalists have no roots among the common people and while they are pushing hard for religious fundamentalists to take hold, the common people still seek change through humanitarian and common human rights law.

I believe in nature and humanity and am here to serve the common people of Pakistan. There is a great deal of suffering in this country and I’m here to help.

I’m most proud of the ambulance service. This is emergency work. Many times Edhi ambulances are the first to arrive and save people’s lives. I’m very proud of this.

Failure does not shape you; the way you respond to failure shapes you.

A good test of a relationship is how a person responds to the word ‘no.’ Love respects ‘no,’ control does not.

So we responded, as part of a coalition, at the request of the legitimate government of Yemen, and we stepped in to support them.

When someone tells us something we’re doing wrong on the boards, we try to respond, we try to be responsive to the fan boards, but yeah, I can’t read them.

While some misuse their freedom to perpetrate evil, millions respond by feeling compelled to use their freedom to do good.

When you REACT you are giving away your power. When you RESPOND you are staying in control of yourself.

Scientists and artists are both living in the cultural milieu that they come up in. They’re always responding to what is happening culturally.

I think writers can respond by writing about the refugee crisis, by looking at problems faced by migrants, by trying hard to portray them as the human beings that they are.