I am constitutionally competent to contest the elections.

In 1988, when democracy was restored, the military establishment was still very powerful. The extremist groups were still there. And when the aid and assistance to Pakistan was cut, we had to adopt harsh economic policies. So in a way, it showed that democracy doesn't pay, and the military was able to reassert itself.

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.

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

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

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