Image Source: https://propakistani.pk/

Introduction:

 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party leader and former prime minister Imran Khan’s, who is currently languishing in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, has officially announced that he is running for the Oxford University Chancellorship in an upcoming election. This is his first foray into the academic and diplomatic world, after a long and often fraught political career.

The Announcement:

 Announcing his application on social media on 18 August – the final day for application submissions – Khan’s advisor Zulfi Bukhari said that Khan, who was an earlier chancellor of the University of Bradford, is ‘eminently qualified for the role at Oxford’. Bukhari elaborated: ‘His life of public service and earlier similar roles qualify him for the Chancellorship of the University.’ Bukhari added: ‘Prime Minister Khan has been a transformational leader in Pakistan. As the youngest and longest-serving Prime Minister of Pakistan, he has a track record of delivering on his promises.’

Imran Khan’s Oxford Legacy:

 Imran Khan’s connections with Oxford University go back to 1972, when he entered Keble College, Oxford to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). He graduated in 1975, and during his time at Oxford he also represented the university’s cricket side. His time at Oxford is a crucial part of his identity, and one that has been played up in his political and public life.

 In addition, he is one of only five Oxbridge alumni of Pakistani origin cited by either Cambridge or Oxford Universities, notably including Pakistan’s first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, his daughter Benazir Bhutto and former President Farooq Ahmad Leghari. His nomination as chancellor, then, is a homecoming of sorts, a return to a university that helped to shape his early career. 

The Role of the Oxford Chancellor:

 The Chancellor, Oxford’s ceremonial head, is a post of great prestige, but for that reason, not one that is actively involved in day-to-day administrative business. The Chancellor presides over major University events, has an important role in the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor, and speaks on the University’s behalf at a national and international level. The post is not paid.

 The calibre of the candidates is guaranteed by the fact that they must be nominated, and then voted upon, by the university’s Convocation — the body made up of alumni and current and former staff — which has recently been modified to include electronic voting, meaning that anyone eligible can now cast their vote online. This makes it much easier for people like the global figure Imran Khan to stand as a candidate, since he does not have to attend the university to be eligible.

Imran Khan’s Candidacy: Political and Diplomatic Implications

 When Imran Khan announces that he will run to be Chancellor at Oxford, his bid is not simply a personal attempt to be something he never quite was. Rather, his efforts are likely to have wider political and diplomatic consequences. A victory for Khan, we are told, would allow him to claim a notable triumph for his international standing, at a time when his political career in Pakistan is on hold, with a slew of corruption charges and prison sentences. 

 But Khan’s candidacy has also reopened a broader political debate that raises questions about the significance of his possible election. His becoming director-general could be construed as a sort of political redemption – an opportunity for Khan to return to the world stage in a role that is less politically sensitive than his previous political post. It could give him a way to continue his public service in a more academic and less political arena.

 Khan’s Oxford supporters, however, have argued that his experience as the Chancellor of the University of Bradford – where he served from 2005 to 2014 – makes him an ideal candidate for the role of Oxford chancellor. In Bradford, Khan helped to set up the Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, which has close ties to his Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Pakistan, where he serves as chairman.

‘Imran Khan was a distinguished ambassador for the university,’ said the vice-chancellor of Bradford, Professor Brian Cantor.

Challenges and Controversies:

 Because of those potential advantages, Khan is by no means an uncontroversial candidate: not only is he currently in prison and fighting various legal battles in Pakistan, but Oxford University rules might bar someone who has been convicted of a crime – regardless of the nature of that crime – from becoming Chancellor.

 Pakistani diplomats and British experts are divided on the effects of Khan’s election on Pakistan-UK relations. One view sees any attempt by Khan to visit the UK as a serious diplomatic point of tension, especially is Pakistani authorities attempt to block his travel. Another view is that while civil society and public opinion in Britain would support Khan’s rights, the British government is not likely to permit this issue to interfere with the UK’s diplomatic relations with Pakistan.

Conclusion:

 Imran Khan’s desire to be the Chancellor of Oxford has the potential to be a key moment in his public life, but it could also be a transitional one. The Chancellor of Oxford is a largely ceremonial position, but it is also an international one. It offers Khan a chance to use his academic and public service past to catapult him back to the world stage in a low-stakes, high-profile manner. How the election goes, and how Khan’s run is received both at Oxford and outside of it, will tell us a lot about his complex, lasting legacy. It’s not clear yet whether Imran Khan will become the Chancellor of Oxford University. The vote won’t happen until October, and quite a lot could change before then. Khan’s own reaction to the investigation into the 1987 Edhi hospital fire is instructive: ‘Nobody died, and this is being blown out of all proportion.’ He might well feel the same way about his last-minute Chancellorship bid. It will certainly be a victory of sorts.

Sources : https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpropakistani.pk%2F2024%2F02%2F07%2Fimran-khan-might-become-next-chancellor-of-oxford-university%2F&psig=AOvVaw1DTpfX6aXhJSv_hlwrXFtP&ust=1724429425985000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CAMQjB1qFwoTCLjXzqz-iIgDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

Read More News here :https://whatshappening.pk/post-graduate-doctors-assault-and-murder-case-a-tragic-turn-of-events-in-kolkata/