Islamabad: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has applied to run for the chancellor of Oxford University, the Guardian reported, citing Khan's adviser Syed Zulfi Bukhari.
Khan, 71, studied politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford's Keble College in the 1970s, successfully playing for its cricket team, and from 2005 to 2014 he was the chancellor of Bradford University, the newspaper recalled.
It is noted that for centuries, Oxford alumni or staff have only been able to put forward their candidacy for the largely ceremonial chancellorship by being present at the university in person. Khan, who is currently imprisoned in Pakistan, was helped by new rules allowing nominations and voting to take place online.
The vote to elect a new chancellor among alumni and staff of the university will take place in October.
The incumbent chancellor Chris Patten, most notably the last Governor of Hong Kong, has been in the role since 2003.
Imran Khan, who served as the prime minister of Pakistan from 2018 to 2022, was removed from office on April 10, 2022, following a vote of no confidence. Khan was arrested in August 2023 for fraud related to the sale of valuables stored in the state treasury of Toshakhana.
He later faced a number of other charges, including treason related to the distribution of a classified telegram.
During the consideration of Khan's appeals, most of the charges against him were dropped, but the former prime minister remained in custody on charges of illegal marriage.
