Imran Khan to run for Oxford University chancellor from Pakistan jail

Imran Khan, former Pakistani prime minister and cricket star, will run for the chancellorship of Oxford University from his prison cell in Pakistan, according to his team.

Despite serving a 10-year jail sentence, Khan will participate in an online ballot for the position, reported the Telegraph.

The chancellor's seat at Oxford University is vacant after Lord Patten, the former governor of Hong Kong and Tory Party chairman, resigned at the age of 80.

This will be the first time the chancellor elections will be held online, instead of the traditional process requiring graduates to attend in full academic dress. The position typically goes to university graduates, often politicians.

Khan is currently jailed over allegations of inciting protests against the Pakistani military on 9 May last year. He denies all the charges. Khan studied Economics and Politics at Keble College, Oxford in 1972 and captained the university's cricket team. Khan was also the chancellor of Bradford University from 2005 to 2014.

"Imran Khan will contest for the chancellorship of Oxford University as there is a public demand that he should contest," said Syed Zulfi Bukhari, Khan's advisor on international media, to The Telegraph. "We will announce it publicly once we get a go-ahead from Khan and start the signature campaign for it."

Khan faces competition from former prime ministers Sir Tony Blair and Boris Johnson, making his victory unlikely.

Since his removal from power in 2022 through an army-backed vote of no-confidence, Pakistani authorities have filed over 150 cases against Khan, including charges of inciting violence.

A Pakistani court recently overturned the conviction and seven-year sentence of Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi concerning their 2018 marriage's legality. However, new cases were swiftly filed to prevent his release.

On Tuesday, several members of parliament in Pakistan called for Khan’s release during a hearing in the House of Lords Committee Room.

Since Khan's imprisonment in August 2023, the UN has described his detention as having no legal basis, with hundreds of his supporters arrested and the government indicating its intention to ban PTI.