Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan applies to be chancellor of UK’s Oxford University from jail

PTC News Desk: Jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has applied to become the next chancellor of Britain’s prestigious University of Oxford.

Khan, who served as Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, has completed one year in prison on charges ranging from corruption to inciting violence, which he claims are politically motivated and intended to keep him out of office.

“Imran Khan had given instructions that he would like to submit his application and now the application scrutiny will take place,” Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, the London-based spokesman for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, stated.

"It's a ceremonial post but one with utmost prestige and importance and Imran Khan, being one of the larger or more popular names coming out of Oxford, it would be brilliant to see him as chancellor," he told reporters.

In February, Conservative peer Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, announced his resignation as Oxford chancellor.

The list of candidates for the 10-year term will not be released until October, according to the university's website, with voting taking place at the end of the month.

Khan graduated from Oxford in 1975, having studied philosophy, politics, and economics. Throughout his career as one of Pakistan's finest cricket players, he lived a playboy lifestyle and was often featured in British gossip magazines.