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.

I am constitutionally competent to contest the elections.

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.

Military or dictatorial rule is not good for our Pakistan.

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

Pakistan is heir to an intellectual tradition of which the illustrious exponent was the poet and philosopher Mohammad Iqbal. He saw the future course for Islamic societies in a synthesis between adherence to the faith and adjustment to the modern age.

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