Incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan has claimed that his wife Bushra Bibi’s statement related to the ex-army chief and a “foreign country” was taken out of context.

“Bushra Bibi’s statement was deliberately taken out of context to draw our brotherly country KSA into a needless controversy,” Khan was quoted as saying in a statement on his X account. “She didn’t mention Saudi Arabia at all.”

His clarification comes a day after Bibi in a video message on Thursday alleged that after Khan visited Medina barefoot as the prime minister, he began receiving calls from former army chief General (retd) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

The former first lady alleged that Bajwa was informed about attempts to dismantle the system of Sharia, raising concerns about Khan’s advocacy for Islamic law.

The former army chief denied the ex-first lady’s claims in conversation with journalist Mohammad Malick. Bajwa stated that no such calls were received upon “Khan’s return from Saudi Arabia”. He said that Bibi “is mistaken and that he did not receive any communications” regarding the matter.

Malick spoke about the conversation on his show Khabar which was aired on ARY News on Thursday.

To further prove his point, the PTI founder said that he has “excellent relations” with Saudi Arabia. “When I was attacked in Wazirabad, one of the first calls I received was, through the embassy, from HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia has always stood by us in difficult times,” he said.

He went on to add that his government only two weeks prior to the no-trust vote held a OIC foreign minister’s conference in Islamabad, which “would have been impossible to do had Saudia Arabia not supported and stood with us.”

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“Bushra Bibi has no connection with politics; she only conveyed my message to the nation, as my wife, regarding the November 24th protest,” he said.

Khan reiterated his claims that his government was toppled through conspiracies orchestrated by General (retd) Bajwa. “I tried to have these investigated through the chief justice and General Tariq Khan, but General Bajwa did not allow that to happen.”

He urged his followers to focus on the November 24 protest. “God willing, you will emerge victorious.”