Former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan, currently incarcerated in Adiala Jail, will run for the position of chancellor of Oxford University, according to his advisor on international media, Syed Zulfi Bukhari, as quoted by British newspaper The Telegraph.
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An Oxford graduate himself, Imran Khan is in Adiala Jail following a new Toshakhana case lodged shortly after his and his wife Bushra Bibi’s acquittal in the Iddat case. This case was the latest in a series of legal battles he had fought and cleared over the past year before being nominated in new cases. He also faced a dozen new cases related to the May 9 incidents, though the Lahore High Court granted him relief by setting aside his physical remand in all these cases.
Despite ongoing legal troubles and his immediate future appearing bleak, Imran has decided to run for one of the most prestigious administrative positions in British academia.
“Imran Khan will contest for the chancellor of Oxford University as there is public demand that he should contest,” Syed Zulfi Bukhari told The Telegraph. “We will announce it publicly once we get a go-ahead from Khan and start the signature campaign for it,” he added.
The chancellor position at Oxford University became vacant following the resignation of 80-year-old Lord Patten, the former governor of Hong Kong and Tory Party chairman, who held the post for 21 years. This will be the first time the chancellor elections will be held online, a shift from the traditional process requiring graduates to attend in full academic dress.
Imran Khan holds a degree in Economics from Keble College at Oxford University. Before deciding to run for the chancellorship at Oxford, he served as the chancellor of Bradford University from 2005 to 2014.
The Telegraph noted that Imran’s chances of winning are slim, given the competition from prominent figures such as former UK prime ministers Sir Tony Blair and Boris Johnson.
