Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan currently imprisoned, plans to run for the position of Chancellor at Oxford University, according to a report in The Telegraph.
Khan, an Oxford alumnus, is currently incarcerated in Adiala Jail facing several charges. He will participate in an online ballot for the post, which became vacant after Lord Patten, the former Tory Party chairman, resigned after 21 years.
"Imran Khan will contest for the chancellor of Oxford University as there is public demand for it," said Syed Zulfi Bukhari, Khan's adviser 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," he added.
Imran Khan graduated from Keble College, Oxford in 1972 with a degree in Economics and Politics. He also served as the chancellor of Bradford University from 2005 to 2014.
Other notable candidates for the chancellorship include former British Prime Ministers Sir Tony Blair and Boris Johnson. This election will be the first to be conducted online, replacing the traditional process requiring graduates to attend in full academic regalia.
Imran Khan is currently in jail on charges related to inciting protests and violence against the Pakistani military in May 2023, which he denies. In a recent jail interview, he said, "I am confined in a 7ft by 8ft death cell, typically reserved for terrorists. People voted for me because they are fed up with the current system and how Pakistan is being run."