“Every dictator uses religion as a prop to keep himself in power.”

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.

The next decade cannot be a decade of confrontation and contention. It cannot be east vs. West. It cannot be men vs. women. It cannot be Islam vs. Christianity. That is what the enemies of dialogue want.

I seek to lead a democratic Pakistan which is free from the yoke of military dictatorship and that will cease to be a haven, the very petri dish of international terrorism.

Military dictatorship is born from the power of the gun, and so it undermines the concept of the rule of law and gives birth to a culture of might, a culture of weapons, violence and intolerance.

I am planning to return and contest the October elections in Pakistan.

I’ve never had a bank account in Switzerland since 1984. Why would the Swiss do this to me? Maybe the Swiss are trying to divert attention from the Holocaust gold scandal.

Our people are dying, poverty and unemployment are on the rise, but the rest of the world says that Musharraf is needed because [only] he can stop nuclear proliferation, [only] he [can launch] an operation in the tribal areas.

To make peace, one must be an uncompromising leader. To make peace, one must also embody compromise.

I was brought up to believe that human beings are good, which is why it shocks me to the core when I see human beings behaving badly.

I found that a whole series of people opposed me simply on the grounds that I was a woman.

Pakistans future viability, stability and security lie in empowering its people and building political institutions.

Being in jail is difficult too because it’s like being in a graveyard, you can’t do much.

That which is used – develops. That which is not used wastes away.

I’m raised to actually think, to use my brain.

My Dad used to tell us: ‘En este pais, ustedes van a poder lograr todas las cosas que nosotros no pudimos’ ‘In this country, you will be able to accomplish all the things we never could.’

We live in a country that used to have a can-do attitude, and now we have a ‘what-can-you-do-for-me?’ attitude, and what I try to do is find ways that we can develop common ground.

The fact that our government is using instruments of government like the IRS to punish its opponents, this is not the kind of thing that is a Democrat or a Republican issue. This is an American issue… A lot of people do not feel free to express themselves.

A fellow is more afraid of the trouble he might have than he ever is of the trouble he’s already got. He’ll cling to trouble he’s used to before he’ll risk a change.

I tend to kind of try to use what’s in my environment to the best of my ability rather than seek out things that I don’t already have.

We must close our eyes and invoke a new manner of seeing…a wakefulness that is the birthright of us all, though few put it to use.