Chris Patten, the current chancellor of Oxford University, announced in February that he would be stepping down.
Khan says ready to hold ‘conditional negotiations’ with powerful military and has appointed a representative for talks.
Officials from PTI, which the government says it wants to disband, are reported to have been detained.
Analysts say the move could have been triggered by recent legal wins for the PTI — but could backfire on the government.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar makes the announcement, alleging opposition party involved in antistate activities.
Acquittal comes after another appeals court upheld the couple’s conviction, but Khan’s lawyer says he won’t be released.
Former PM’s party to get key parliament seats, denying the ruling coalition a two-thirds majority.
Geneva-based UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention says ‘appropriate remedy’ would be to release Khan ‘immediately’.
A court had ruled in February that the marriage of the former prime minister and Bushra Bibi violated Islamic law.
But Pakistan’s former PM Khan will remain behind bars over another conviction.
![Former prime minister Imran Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023. [Bilawal Arbab/EPA]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/bilawal-arbab-1715843990.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
The court appearance of the 71-year-old leader was not livestreamed on the court’s website or aired on news channels.
Both sides have so far rejected concessions, but many analysts say this rupture is untenable and a compromise is needed.
Nationwide riots on this ‘dark day’ last year triggered a months-long political crisis that saw ex-PM Imran Khan jailed.
The platform remained inaccessible to users but government officials refused to acknowledge any restrictions, until now.
