Pakistan News: Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan who is currently in jail, is reportedly going to run for the Oxford University chancellor post from his cell. A graduate of Oxford University, Imran Khan is lodged in Adiala Jail on several charges. Khan will have to contest the post through an online ballot following the resignation of Tory Party chair Lord Patten, who served in that capacity for 21 years, media reports said.

Imran Khan’s foreign media advisor, Syed Zulfi Bukhari, told The Telegraph that Khan would run for chancellor of Oxford University because this is a demand from the public. “Once Khan gives his approval, we will make a public announcement and begin the petition drive,” he said.

Challengers: Two Former British PMs

At Keble College in Oxford, Imran Khan studied politics and economics in 1972. He held the Bradford University chancellor from 2005 to 2014.

Notable contenders in the Oxford race besides Imran Khan are former British prime ministers Boris Johnson and Sir Tony Blair. 

For the first time, the chancellor elections will take place virtually rather than in person, as is customary and requires graduates to wear their full academic dress.

Why is Imran Khan in Jail? 

Imran Khan is in jail at the moment as he faces charges of inciting demonstrations and violence against the powerful Pakistani military in May 2023. However, he disputes these accusations. “I am confined in a 7-by-8-foot death cell, usually reserved for terrorists. Voting for me was a sign of dissatisfaction with Pakistan’s current government and system,” he said in a recent interview from the jail. 

Khan was arrested on August 5, 2018, for his alleged involvement in the Toshakhana case, with charges of corruption brought against him by Pakistan’s Election Commission. Since then, he has been in custody.

Even though his conviction was overturned, or he was granted bail in some cases, the cricketer-turned-politician had remained behind the bars. Nationwide protests by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party are being planned to demand the release of its 71-year-old founder, Khan, and other party leaders and workers who have been arrested.