'Slip of the tongue': No woman can be a murshid, says Imran Khan

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has recently said that his earlier statement of calling the country's former first lady, Bushra Bibi, a murshid was a "slip of the tongue". 

In an interview with a TV channel late Tuesday, the PTI chief said: "People often refer to me as murshid so it was a slip of the tongue... No woman can be a murshid."

He said that his wife was a devout Muslim. 

He further praised the former first lady saying that she had never insisted on going on shopping sprees and trips with him, except going to Makkah and Madina.

During the interview, Khan also spoke on a number of other topics, including reiterating his accusations against the former chief of army staff General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa. 

Khan said that the former army chief fell in love with the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) after securing an extension — which was granted to him in 2019 by the then government — and stopped accountability.

The PTI chief also repeated his assertions that it was Gen (retd) Bajwa who had prompted Khan to dissolve the assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and had guaranteed elections.

He confirmed meeting Gen (retd) Bajwa twice after he was ousted in 2022 and said that he had been "fooled" by promises of elections twice if assemblies were dissolved.

"But now everyone is running away from elections," he said.

He said his party had dissolved the assemblies as the Constitution makes elections within 90 days of dissolution mandatory.

Khan further said he was shocked when a judge questioned his party's right to dissolve the assembly.

When asked if his government went back on some agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that caused the ongoing economic mess, the former prime minister denied the impression, saying everyone was blaming his government for inflation while, in fact, his team had surpassed all targets.

He also said that Russian President Vladamir Putin had promised him cheaper oil, and he went to Russia after consulting the former army chief. "But later Bajwa went on to condemn Russia," he said. 

The former premier also accused the ex-army chief of lobbying with America for his extension and said that Hussain Haqqani was hired against him (Imran).

During the interview, Khan also repeated his call for the rule of law, saying it was not possible in the absence of a two-thirds majority.

Condemning India’s Hindutva ideology as anti-Pakistan, he said India enjoys respect (in the world) due to its foreign policy. 

"India is a self-respecting nation," Khan said.

He said he would start a movement involving the entire nation and stand with the Supreme Court.