Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has alleged that jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi claims to be the “real chief minister” of the province.

“Her [Bibi] words hold more weight than those of KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur,” he said while appearing on Rubaroo which was aired on Aaj News on Sunday.

Kundi declared both Gandapur and Bushra Bibi to be “dishonest.”

He noted that the KP chief minister had taken an oath stating “he would not return from Islamabad until the PTI founder chairman was brought back”. Kundi suggested that “Gandapur mistakenly considered Bibi to be the chairperson which led to their departure together.”

The governor also mentioned that the former first lady had sworn to the Pashtuns that they were brave and did not flee the battlefield, yet she left when the lights went out.

On the fire in the PTI leaders’ container, Kundi alleged that it was set by the chief minister’s associates. “There were 1,500 FRP police personnel with him; where was the chief minister’s security when the fire broke out?” he questioned.

He criticised the PTI, stating that no leader from the party ever gets apprehended only the workers do. Many prominent party leaders from Punjab have sought refuge in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, Kundi claimed and suggested that their ideological commitment to PTI was as “tenuous as it was to their previous parties.”

In response to Senator Faisal Vawda’s statement regarding actions against former Inter-Services Intelligence director general Lieutenant General (retd) Faiz Hameed’s trial before December 14, the KP governor said: “These days, Vawda is the only informed individual in the circus of Islamabad. In the past, there was another person who went for a retreat and ended up staying longer than expected.”

Kundi also commented on Adviser to the KP CM on Information Muhammad Ali Saif, suggesting that he should be considered a government employee. “He is just doing his job; he is not an ideological person.”

As the KP governor, Kundi said that he would pay more attention to Bibi, who he referred to as the de facto chief minister. “Currently, she is the one running the province.”

He added that Bushra Bibi has direct communication with her husband Imran Khan, alleging that she has received various messages and items. “She says she has a spiritual connection with him and is the de facto chief minister.”