Pakistani Politics Quotes

Pakistan is not a unified country. In large parts of the country, the state is regarded as a Punjabi state, not their (the people's) state.

I can say with some confidence that President Zardari's legacy will be written in golden words. I don't say this as his son, or patron-and-chief of the Pakistan People's Party - but as a student of history.

I have spent seven of the 12 years I have been married a victim of political persecution. I must be the first male spouse being held hostage by a regime. I accept this, as Pakistan has traditional elements who find it hard to reconcile with a man whose wife works and who other men salute perforce of her office.

Musharraf and his own government, his close advisers, they have been untainted by sort of any serious allegation of corruption and they have been in power now for three years, which -- and in the context of Pakistan is a bit of a record, you know? I mean there are not too many governments who have achieved that

I have no illusions about our elected politicians. Pakistani democracy is anything but perfect.

I am chairman of the Pakistan People's Party.

All civilian politicians in Pakistan are puppets of the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence), military, and the Taliban.

President Zardari came to power just as the global recession hit. He had to cobble together an unruly coalition, put up with a constant assault from a conservative supreme court who sought to undermine him at every term. This does not include dealing with Pakistani's omnipotent establishment and the menace of terrorism.

As a son, and a Pakistani citizen, I could not be more proud of President Zardari.

In Pakistan, there have been two real powers - one is Bhuttoism, and one is the worshipers of dictatorship. I call them the supporters of the establishment.

I think there is no difference between the language of Shah Rukh Khan and Hafiz Saeed.

Most Pakistani politics is conducted within a narrow spectrum. Politicians spend much time debating the best ways to fight India, or take Kashmir, or dominate Afghanistan, or punish the United States for its real and imagined sins.

The Pakistani government and its allies must overhaul their policies in Pakistan.

Pakistani politics is complicated, and I think it's not something a foreigner can easily assimilate and understand.

In April [1972], after that fine business in Dacca, Yahya Khan sent for me. He looked satisfied, sure of himself, by now convinced he had the situation in hand. He offered me a drink. "Well, you politicians are really finished," he said. Then he said that not only Mujib but I too was considered an agitator, I too was preaching against the unity of Pakistan. "I'm always under pressure to arrest you, Bhutto" I got so angry I lost all control.