New Delhi, Aleema Khan, sister of the imprisoned former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, has launched an extraordinary public attack on General Asim Munir, the country’s powerful army chief, accusing him of harbouring “radicalised Islamist” views and actively seeking a full-scale military confrontation with India.
In an interview with Sky News’s Yalda Hakim, Ms Khan described Gen Munir as an “Islamic conservative” whose ideological convictions were driving Pakistan towards war with its nuclear-armed neighbour. “Asim Munir is a radicalised Islamist,” she said. “This is the reason why he yearns for a war with India.”
By contrast, she portrayed her brother — the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and prime minister from 2018 to 2022 — as a “pure liberal” who, if returned to power, would seek rapprochement with New Delhi, including with India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The remarks, among the most direct criticisms of Gen Munir by a member of Mr Khan’s inner circle, come at a moment of acute tension between Pakistan’s civilian political class and its military establishment, which has dominated the country’s security and foreign policy for decades.
Mr Khan, 73, has been detained in Adiala Jail since August 2023 on a series of corruption and state-secrets charges that he and his supporters insist are politically motivated. On Tuesday, in a statement released by PTI shortly after a rare family visit, the former premier described Gen Munir as a “mentally unstable tyrant” and warned that the army chief could orchestrate his murder in custody.
The public rift coincides with heightened military rhetoric over Kashmir, a Himalayan territory that has been the principal flashpoint between India and Pakistan since partition in 1947. Gen Munir has repeatedly described Kashmir as Pakistan’s “jugular vein” and emphasised the religious distinction between Muslims and Hindus — language that Indian officials believe helped incite a deadly terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam in April that killed 26 people.
India responded in May with Operation Sindoor, a series of airstrikes that it said destroyed nine terrorist training camps inside Pakistan and struck 11 Pakistani military installations — the most significant cross-border action since the 2019 Balakot strikes.
Since then, Gen Munir has warned of a “decisive response” to any further Indian provocation, while Islamabad continues to grapple with a worsening domestic terrorism crisis and a fragile economy dependent on a $7bn IMF bailout programme.
Analysts say the open feud between Mr Khan’s family and the military leadership risks further destabilising an already fractured polity at a time when Pakistan can least afford internal division.
Ms Khan urged Western governments to redouble efforts to secure her brother’s release, describing the former cricketer-turned-politician as a strategic “asset” for regional stability. “Whenever Imran comes to power, you will see he tries to be friends with India and even the BJP,” she said. “Whenever there is this radical Islamist, Asim Munir, you will see there will be war with India and its allies.”
Gen Munir, who is expected to assume the newly created role of Chief of Defence Forces, has not publicly responded to the allegations. The Pakistani military’s media wing did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
For global investors and policymakers, the escalating war of words serves as a stark reminder of the enduring influence of Pakistan’s army in shaping both domestic politics and the precarious security dynamic on the subcontinent.
