“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 believe that democracies do not go to war; that’s the lesson of history, and I think that a democratic Pakistan is the world community’s best guarantee of stability in Asia.

When the United States aligns with dictatorships and totalitarian regimes, it compromises the basic democratic principles of its foundation – namely, life, liberty and justice for all.

General Musharraf needs my participation to give credibility to the electoral process, as well as to respect the fundamental right of all those who wish to vote for me.

What is important is that a political party articulates the mood of a generation.

Given the right to a free ballot, the people would support my return.

I dream …of a world where we can commit our social resources to the development of human life and not to its destruction

A political war can be fought from anywhere.

The military wants a system that protects its policies and privileges.

The government I led gave ordinary people peace, security, dignity, and opportunity to progress.

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.

God wants us so badly that he has made the condition as simple as he possibly could: Only believe.

If you ever want something badly, let it go. If it comes back to you, then it’s yours forever. If it doesn’t, then it was never yours to begin with.

I unfortunately don’t speak French, but my wife is now fluent in English, which really reflects rather badly on me.

My ideas have undergone a process of emergence by emergency. When they are needed badly enough, they are accepted.

I think the reality is that, that money was probably badly spent.

Given all the changes, both economic and technological, SF hasn’t done too badly.

I would box them into a corner with a badly formed question, and they didn’t know how to get out of it. Now, I let them take me through it step by step, and I listen.

The difference between hope and despair is a different way of telling stories from the same facts.