Guardian columnist not happy with Imran Khan’s Oxford Chancellor candidacy

Guardian columnist Catherine Bennett has questioned former Prime Minister (PM) Pakistan Imran Khan’s candidacy for Chancellor of Oxford University, bringing up controversial statements that he said in the past.

Bennett brought up the time Imran called Osama Bin Laden (OBL) a “martyr”, stressing that he refused to call Bin Laden a terrorist.

She also showed concern on him congratulating the Taliban on the fall of Kabul, a development Imran said was “breaking the shackles of slavery,” after American troops withdrew from the Afghanistan region.

The article raised eyebrows at the conservative peer Lord Hannan for calling Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), “a towering figure.”

Bennett further questioned Imran’s controversial statements on rape, that women should remove “temptation” because “not everyone has willpower.”

She wrote, “The appointment is for a decade. Khan is months into his latest 14-year sentence, and the Oxford job involves, along with administrative duties, presiding over several key ceremonies. The chancellor must be readily accessible and available throughout the year.”