Imran Khan Applies For Job As Oxford University Chancellor

LONDON – Imran Khan, Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister, is reportedly aiming for a new role as Chancellor of Oxford University, according to the BBC. He has been imprisoned for over a year on charges he says are politically motivated. Khan submitted his application just before the deadline on August 19, his adviser tweeted.

The University of Oxford has not commented on Khan’s application or disclosed any details about the candidates. The official list of candidates will be revealed in early October, with voting set to take place online on October 28.

The role of the Chancellor at Oxford is largely ceremonial, elected by graduates who have had their degrees conferred and registered to vote, as well as members of the university’s congregations, including academic staff. Candidates must not be current students, employees of the university, or political office candidates, the BBC said.

Khan, a former cricket star and an honorary fellow of Keble College at Oxford, where he studied philosophy, politics, and economics in 1972, seeks to succeed the outgoing Chancellor, Christopher Patten. Patten, who has held the ceremonial position since 2003, is the last Governor of Hong Kong and a former chairman of the Conservative Party.

Despite a United Nations panel declaring his detention arbitrary, Khan remains in jail facing new charges.