Jailed ex-PM Khan seeks Oxford University chancellor role

Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, has formally applied to run for chancellor of the University of Oxford in Britain from his prison cell, a close aide announced on Sunday 18 August, writes Ayaz Gul for Voice of America.

Khan served as Pakistan’s leader from 2018 until April 2022, when he was ousted through an opposition parliamentary no-confidence vote he alleges was planned by the powerful Pakistani military. Khan, who remains Pakistan’s most popular politician, has been in jail since last August after becoming embroiled in a series of prosecutions and lawsuits on charges that include corruption, sedition and stoking violent anti-army protests. He rejects the allegations as baseless and claims the military is behind them.

“As per Imran Khan’s instructions, his application form to Oxford University Chancellor Election 2024 has been submitted,” Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. “We look forward to everyone’s support for a historic campaign,” he wrote. Khan graduated from Oxford in 1975, studying philosophy, politics and economics. Former British prime ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson are also among the candidates to become the university’s chancellor.
Full report on the VoA site