It was former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa who initially brought a critical matter to the attention of then-prime minister Imran Khan — a dossier containing alleged details of corruption linked to Bushra Bibi, who was the First Lady at the time. Khan, however, immediately resisted this overture, reportedly telling Bajwa: “Bushra Bibi is my red line.”
According to insiders privy to the exchange, Khan dismissed the contents of the folder as “one-sided.” When Bajwa suggested that the prime minister investigate the connections 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. Subsequently, the 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, contacted Bajwa and demanded Munir’s removal from the top intelligence post.
Sources indicate that Bajwa attempted to de-escalate the situation and pacify the prime minister, but Khan remained resolute and insisted on Asim Munir’s replacement. 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 submitted for the prime minister’s approval. As Khan continued to press for Gen Munir’s removal, Bajwa reportedly advised him to at least extend an invitation to the outgoing ISI DG for a farewell tea — a customary gesture of protocol and respect. Khan declined.
In a recent statement issued via his official account on the social media platform “X”, Khan confirmed that he had indeed removed Gen Asim. He further claimed that he subsequently attempted to reach out to Bushra Bibi through intermediaries, but she declined to speak with him. Neither Khan elucidated who these intermediaries were, nor has the claim been independently verified by any source.
This account sharply contrasts with Khan’s earlier public stance. In May 2023, in response to a Telegraph report claiming that Gen Munir was dismissed because he sought to investigate corruption involving Bushra Bibi and her inner circle, Khan unequivocally 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 tenure as ISI chief, had clashed with Khan in 2019 after raising concerns about financial dealings surrounding 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 publicly supported the appointment of Gen Munir as the chief of army staff. This came despite the fact that only a few weeks prior to this appointment, Khan had called for a long march, allegedly to obstruct Gen Asim’s appointment as the army chief. Although the decision regarding the appointment of the 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.
