Bushra Bibi — 'red line' for Imran, 'fault line' for establishment

ISLAMABAD: It was former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa who initially brought the issue to then-prime minister Imran Khan’s attention — a folder containing details of alleged corruption linked to Bushra Bibi, the First Lady at the time.

Khan, however, immediately pushed back, reportedly telling Bajwa: “Bushra Bibi is my red line.”

According to insiders familiar with the exchange, Khan dismissed the contents of the folder as “one-sided”. When Bajwa suggested the prime minister look into the links of individuals close to Bushra Bibi — including Farah Gogi, then Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar, and others — Khan once again reiterated that Bushra Bibi was off limits.

Later, then-director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant Gen Asim Munir (now the field marshal) attempted to brief the prime minister on the same allegations. This did not sit well with Khan, who within 24 hours called Bajwa and demanded Munir’s removal from the top intelligence post.

Sources say Bajwa attempted to pacify the prime minister, but Khan remained firm and insisted that Asim Munir be replaced. Khan proposed Gen Faiz Hameed for the role of DG ISI — despite the fact that Hameed’s name was not included in the official panel sent for the prime minister’s approval.

As Khan continued to push for Gen Munir’s removal, Bajwa reportedly advised him to at least invite the outgoing ISI DG for a farewell tea — a gesture of protocol and respect. Khan refused.

In a recent statement issued via his official account on the social media platform “X”, Khan confirmed that he had removed Gen Asim and said that afterwards he tried to reach out to Bushra Bibi through intermediaries but she declined to speak with him. 

Neither Khan explained who these intermediaries were nor has the claim been confirmed by any independent source.

This account sharply contrasts with Khan’s earlier public position. In May 2023, responding to a Telegraph report that claimed Gen Munir was dismissed because he sought to investigate corruption involving Bushra Bibi and her inner circle, Khan categorically denied the story. “This is completely false,” he wrote in a tweet. “Neither did Gen Asim show me any proof of my wife’s corruption nor did I make him resign because of that.”

The Telegraph had reported that Gen Munir, during his brief stint as ISI chief, clashed with Khan in 2019 after raising concerns about financial dealings around Bushra Bibi. He was removed from his position just eight months into what was expected to be a three-year term.

Interestingly, in November 2022, Khan supported the appointment of Gen Munir as the chief of army staff. A few weeks prior to this appointment, Khan had given a call for long march allegedly to block Gen Asim’s appointment as the army chief.

Though the decision regarding the appointment of army chief legally rested with the sitting prime minister, then-PTI President Dr Arif Alvi flew to Lahore to meet Khan and publicly signal Khan’s endorsement of Gen Munir’s promotion.

Originally published in The News