Jailed former Pakistani PM Imran Khan has applied to become the next chancellor of Britain’s Oxford University.
Islamabad: Jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan wants to become the next chancellor of Britain’s Oxford University and has applied for the position, PTI said on Monday. The party took to X and informed that Khan, an Oxford alumnus, ‘formally submitted’ the request to become the next chancellor of the prestigious university through his party’s London-based spokesman, Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari.
“Pakistan’s national hero and Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, founder and chairman of Pakistan’s biggest political party PTI, a cricketing legend, a philanthropist and an alumnus of Oxford University, is running for the position of Chancellor of Oxford University, all while being imprisoned,” the PTI post read.
“Despite being unlawfully incarcerated for over a year, Khan remains committed to his principles and the causes he champions. Zulfi Bukhari has confirmed that the application has been formally submitted,” it added.
Khan’s party’s announcement comes after Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, announced in February that he would be stepping down as Oxford chancellor, Al Jazeera reported.
However, the list of candidates for the 10-year term will not be made public until October, according to the university’s website, and voting is to take place at the end of that month.
Khan graduated from the university in 1975 after studying philosophy, politics, and economics.
He then reportedly led a playboy lifestyle during his career as one of Pakistan’s greatest cricket players, regularly gracing the pages of Britain’s gossip magazines, according to Al Jazeera.
The former Pakistan premier married three times in his life, including to British socialite and filmmaker Jemima Goldsmith. He also served as the chancellor of the University of Bradford from 2005 until 2014. Khan later turned to philanthropy and politics, serving as Pakistan’s prime minister from 2018 to 2022.
In 2022, Khan lost his place as Prime Minister as he couldn’t win the confidence vote. He resorted to critiquing the military – his previous backers – and managed to rouse huge crowds at rallies as he fought for his political comeback. Khan was taken into custody in August of the foregoing year on various charges like corruption and sparking violence and has spent a year in prison. However, this PTI founder dismisses the allegations as politically motivated efforts to keep him from seizing power, according to a report by Al Jazeera.