ASHRAF GHANI

Since I took office, Afghans have been waiting for Pakistan to show their tangible commitment to peace. But attacks in the past two months and now in Kabul have shown us that it is still the same as the past .... The sanctuaries of the suicide attackers [Taliban] are still in Pakistan.

A counter-insurgency is won by intelligence—not by bombardment.

The cost of deploying one U. S. soldier is the equivalent to the cost of deploying 70 Afghan soldiers.

Tolerance of corruption, explicit and implicit, has made it impossible to govern…. We need absolute transparency of all the assets of government officials.

The aid system is broken. The international aid system was designed for the 20th century. However, we are in the 21st century.

Companies always have a balance sheet of its assets, but counties do not.

Young people in the third world can participate in global security if they also can participate in global prosperity.

Security today is important, but 90 percent of security involves other co functions of government.

We've had a difficult legacy of 40 years, and cleaning up is not going to be a one day job. But we are engaged in a systematic effort, we have not allowed formation of new militia groups, and we are reforming the local police systematically so that there won't be abuse.

Organizations are accumulations of historical debris. They are not consciously thought. So when you ask the Education Ministry 'What's your core function and who's your client?' they laugh at you. When I say that the client is the Afghan child - and the Ministry is an instrument, not the goal - it's greeted with shock. It's a new idea.

Afghanistan fortunately is one of the richest countries in terms of water, mineral resources, location and human capital.

The future is Afghanistan.

Peace cannot come without the government of Afghanistan speaking directly to the Taliban or the Taliban talking directly to us.

There's no place for mob justice in Afghanistan.

Economics taught in most of the elite universities are practically useless in my context. My country is dominated by drug economy and a mafia. Textbook economics does not work in my context, and I have very few recommendations from anybody as to how to put together a legal economy.

As long as I am president, the rights of women will be protected.

Afghanistan cannot be a burden on the international community and it has to become an asset.

We must focus on our biggest enemy, poverty. There is no single-state solution to it, and that is a noble goal.

President Truman made his name by looking into contracting. And that's how integrity within the military procurement started in the United States.

Particularly the mark for success for us would be that a woman can not only walk in the streets of every major city, but can go from one province to another without any hindrance.

There's a Darwinian struggle amongst terror groups for hegemony. Da'esh has broken out of the pack because Al-Qaeda and the rest rendered allegiance to Mullah Omar.

Self-reliance is not just words, but deeds.

If I get elected, my government will promote a culture of acceptance and non-violence in the country.

Afghanistan is developing its infrastructure to come up with a new direction of connectivity through energy transmission and modernisation of transport sector in an effort to cater to needs of modern day age.

Sovereignty of Afghanistan must be accepted categorically by Pakistan so that we can move forward.