Jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will contest for the post of Chancellor of Oxford University from prison, according to a report in The Telegraph.
Imran Khan, an Oxford graduate who is lodged in Adiala Jail in connection with several cases, will vote online for the post, which has become necessary due to the resignation of Tory party chairman Lord Patten, who held the post for 21 years.
“Imran Khan will contest the election for Chancellor of Oxford University because there is public demand that he should contest,” Syed Zulfi Bukhari, Imran Khan’s adviser on international media, told The Telegraph.
“After getting the green signal from Khan, we will make a public announcement and start a signature campaign for it,” he said.
Imran Khan studied economics and politics at Keble College, Oxford in 1972. He also served as Chancellor of the University of Bradford from 2005 to 2014.
Apart from Imran Khan, prominent candidates in this election include former British Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair and Boris Johnson.
This will be the first time that the chancellor’s election will be held online, unlike the traditional process where graduates have to appear in full academic dress.
Imran Khan is currently in jail on charges of inciting protests and violence against the powerful Pakistani military in May 2023, a charge he has denied.
In a recent interview from prison, he said, “I have been kept in a 7-foot by 8-foot death chamber, which is usually reserved for terrorists. People voted for me because they are fed up with the current system and the way Pakistan is being run.”