Imran Khan is a symbol of chaos in Pakistan

Imran Khan, Pakistan's imprisoned former prime minister, has never been a realistic contender to become the next chancellor of Oxford University. Oxford said it would not comment on individual applications, but when it published the shortlist of applicants to enter the competition later this month, Khan's name was nowhere to be seen.

The decision to exclude him is the right one. Khan, an honorary fellow of Keble College, where he studied philosophy, politics and economics in the 1970s, is not qualified for a multitude of reasons. Three years ago, while still in office, he blamed the rise in rape cases across Pakistan on the way women dressed and suggested that women should cover themselves to avoid men not be tempted. His views are quite offensive but also laced with hypocrisy, coming from someone who spent his youth in Britain partying in the company of scantily clad women.

Khan's election argument that he would protect academic freedoms and free speech at university was equally implausible given his record as Pakistan's leader: media censorship was rife and journalists were routinely harassed. and intimidated. Any perceived criticism of the government was considered tantamount to treason. Khan is not your idea of ​​a valiant defender of rights and freedoms.

Why does Pakistan continue to arrest its former prime ministers?

Why, then, did he apply for the Oxford post? After all, he yearns for a return to frontline politics in Pakistan rather than campus politics in Britain. One must suspect that this was a publicity stunt, a means of drawing attention to his plight and a pulpit for his political grievances.

Khan remains popular in Pakistan but is now a largely forgotten figure in the West. He has been in prison for more than a year for corruption. His lawyers say all convictions have been overturned or suspended. He now presents himself as a political martyr who sacrificed everything for his convictions and his principles, perhaps in the manner of a Gandhi or a Mandela. This self-esteem blinds him to reality.

Khan came to power in 2018, portraying himself as the candidate of change, offering a break from the corrupt politics of the past. His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party sold voters the dream of a new Pakistan in which wealth was shared. Instead, inflation soared, unemployment rose, the currency collapsed, and international debt multiplied. The country was forced to negotiate a $4.75 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

It turned out that Khan's new Pakistan was the same old Pakistan. He cynically exploited appeals to Islamic values ​​and anti-Western sentiment, portrayed Osama bin Laden as a martyr and aligned himself with religious extremists. His political opponents were quick to nickname him Taliban Khan. He was ultimately ousted from power in 2022, after losing a vote of no confidence widely seen as orchestrated by the military.

Pakistani government renews efforts to ban Imran Khan's party

Bringing out his authoritarian instincts, Khan sought to dissolve Parliament, a move that was blocked by the courts. He blamed his ouster on a U.S.-led conspiracy but provided little concrete evidence to support his claims, which Washington has denied.

His plight is significant because it illustrates the larger problems of Pakistan itself. No prime minister has served a full five-year term. Assassination or imprisonment, sometimes both, are occupational hazards for anyone who reaches the top. Former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged in 1979. His daughter, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated in a bomb attack in 2007. Another former leader, Nawaz Sharif, ended up in prison a year after lost power in 2017. Khan is just the latest of the generation to end up behind bars.

Politicians come and go in Pakistan, but some things never change. The army is the omnipresent force on the territory: generals have ruled the country, on and off, for 34 years, almost half of its existence as a nation-state. Political leaders serve only at the pleasure of the military: Khan came to power with the support of the military and was terminated the moment that support withdrew.

The other constant is the country's economic crisis. Last month, the IMF approved a new $5.25 billion loan to Pakistan, the latest in a series of bailouts dating back decades. Its total external debt amounts to around 90 billion. Inflation peaked at 38 percent last summer before falling again in recent months. Ordinary Pakistanis can see what is happening: this year alone, more than 700,000 people have left the country in search of a better life.

Khan offers no real answers and never has to the country's deep-rooted problems and divisions. Despite this, his continued incarceration is a stain on what remains of Pakistan's tattered democracy. The UN working group on arbitrary detention declared his imprisonment a violation of international law and called for his immediate release.

Jemima Goldsmith, Khan's ex-wife, claims his weekly calls to his British sons have been cut off and he is now in solitary confinement with no electricity in his cell. Britain, which has close historical ties to the region and is one of Pakistan's largest foreign aid donors (expected to reach 133 million in 2024-25), has influence and is expected to to use. Khan, cavalier in his denunciations of the West, is not a model of democratic values, but his continued incarceration deserves condemnation.

Remaining silent about his plight only harms the broader cause of democracy and the rule of law. Our government should speak out.

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