Paul spent his early years in India and ended up reporting on Indian affairs and doing his primary research on Indian democracy. He was sent to school in the UK and has remained ever since. 

 

Until 2018 Paul served as the Secretary-General of the Europaeum, an association of leading European universities. Paul has also served as president and chair for The Forum for Philosophy based at the LSE, as chair for the Oxford Adam von Trott Memorial Committee, and is the current chair of the Vicky Noon Educational Foundation which has provided more than £3 million to support Pakistani scholars study at Oxford and Cambridge.