Nearly 200 Oxford University alumni, staff members back Imran Khan's candidacy for chancellor

LONDON: Nearly 200 Oxford University alumni, staff members and current students have petitioned the Chancellor’s Selection Committee to permit former prime minister Imran Khan to run for the election to be held later this month.

The university confirmed to Geo News that it had received the petition. It is believed the petition by the staff and alumni was organised by Zulfi Bukhari, Imran Khan’s adviser on international affairs, who has orchestrated the media campaign in the UK and international campaign in support of Khan, the jailed founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).

The petition in Khan’s favour has been signed by 176 alumni and students, and it stressed that Khan is fit and deserves to be the chancellor. The move comes after Khurram Butt, chairman Youth Coordination Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) UK, campaigned at Oxford University last week by distributing leaflets and pamphlets to the university alumni and staff and also submitted a petition saying that Khan is “unfit” to become the chancellor and must not be allowed to run in the election.

The petition says: “We, the undersigned members of the University of Oxford’s student and faculty community as well as its global alumni network, welcome Imran Khan's candidacy for the esteemed position of Chancellor, a notable Global South alumnus whose accomplishments embody the values which Oxford University is revered for. Khan has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to public service, inspiring numerous Oxford students by virtue of his leadership.”

The petition narrates Khan’s accomplishments as being one of the most accomplished cricketers to have studied at the University of Oxford, defying expectations to win the Cricket World Cup in 1992; founding the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital, Pakistan’s first cancer hospital, which continues to provide free treatment to over 70% of its patients; founding Namal University, an institution dedicated to increasing access to higher education in rural areas and promoting economic development, highlighting his commitment to education; serving as the chancellor of the University of Bradford for over nine years, being a powerful role model for students and faculty alike; implementing the innovative Ehsaas programme in Pakistan, praised by world-leading academics for its leveraging of technology to tackle poverty; developing and executing a visionary approach to combating climate change, through the Billion Tree Tsunami initiative, in which over a billion trees were successfully planted.”

The petition tells the university that Khan’s candidacy is both a significant source of pride for Oxford, and an opportunity for the university to celebrate its dedication to diversity and social impact.

“In spite of claims by certain political actors in the media, we are confident that Imran Khan’s candidacy aligns fully with the requirements outlined by the Election Committee as: Imran Khan is neither a student nor an employee of Oxford, nor is he currently serving in, or standing for, any elected legislature; he is not disqualified from being a charity trustee and continues to serve as the founding chairman of both Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Namal University; claims attempting to label Imran Khan as not ‘fit and proper’ on the basis of his imprisonment are misleading, as he is not sentenced or convicted in any case and is currently on remand, with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention having declared his incarceration illegal; and as a matter of principle, we ask you to ensure that all candidates who meet the eligibility criteria are provided the opportunity to participate in this election, which will uphold the integrity of the democratic process. The undersigned express confidence that the Election Committee will enable Imran Khan to present his vision to Oxford’s esteemed members of Convocation.”

Zulfi Bukhari commented: “The fact that close to 200 students have signed the petition speaks for the credibility of Imran Khan. This is an outstanding achievement. Imran Khan has got more local and international coverage in just two months than any other leader in both the history of Oxford and the UK press. No other leader or candidate has got this kind of exposure. This is an opportunity for Oxford to accept Khan’s papers and allow him to run in elections and become the Chancellor.”