Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

Not to be confused with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians or Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Nazriati.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
پاکستان تحريکِ انصاف
Pakistan Movement for Justice
AbbreviationPTI
PresidentParvez Elahi
ChairmanGohar Ali Khan
Secretary-GeneralSalman Akram Raja[1]
SpokespersonSheikh Waqas Akram
Vice ChairmanShah Mahmood Qureshi[2]
Leader in SenateShibli Faraz
Leader in National AssemblyOmar Ayub Khan
FounderImran Khan
Founded25 April 1996
(28 years ago) (1996-04-25)
HeadquartersSector G-6/4
Islamabad-44000, ICT
Student wingInsaf Student Federation
Youth wingInsaf Youth Wing[3]
Women's wingInsaf Women Wing
Research WingInsaf Research Wing
Membership (2012)10 million[4]
Ideology
Political positionCentre[15] to centre-right[19]
National affiliationTehreek Tahafuz Ayin[20]
Colors    
SloganChange the system—change Pakistan[21]
Senate
17 / 100
National Assembly
0 / 336
[22]
Punjab Assembly
29 / 371
Sindh Assembly
6 / 168
KPK Assembly
58 / 145
Balochistan Assembly 
0 / 65
GB Assembly
21 / 33
AJK Assembly
31 / 53
Party flag
Website
www.insaf.pk
This article is part of
a series about
Imran Khan
Personal
Cricket career
22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan
Post-premiership
Elections
Politics
Imran Khan's signature

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI; Urdu: پاکستان تحريکِ انصاف, lit. 'Pakistan Movement for Justice') is a political party in Pakistan established in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer and politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022.[23] The PTI ranks among the three major Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML–N) and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), and it is the largest party in terms of representation in the National Assembly of Pakistan since the 2018 general election. With over 10 million members in Pakistan and abroad, it claims to be the country's largest political party by primary membership, as well as one of the largest political parties in the world.[4]

Despite Khan's popular persona in Pakistan, the PTI had limited initial success:[24] it failed to win, as a collective, a single seat in the 1997 general election and the 2002 general election; only Khan himself was able to win a seat. From 1999 to 2007, the PTI supported the military presidency of Pervez Musharraf. It rose in opposition to Musharraf in 2007 and also boycotted the 2008 general election, accusing it of having been conducted with fraudulent procedures under Musharraf's rule. The global popularity of the "Third Way" during the Musharraf era led to the rise of a new Pakistani political bloc focused on centrism, deviating from the traditional dominance of the centre-left PPP and the centre-right PML–N. When the PML–Q began to decline in the aftermath of Musharraf's presidency, much of its centrist voter bank was lost to the PTI. Around the same time, the PPP's popularity began to decrease after the disqualification of Yousaf Raza Gillani in 2012. Similarly, the PTI appealed to many former PPP voters, particularly in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, due to its outlook on populism.

In the 2013 general election, the PTI emerged as a major party with over 7.5 million votes, ranking second by number of votes and third by number of seats won. At the provincial level, it was voted to power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. During its time in opposition, the PTI, with the help of popular slogans such as Tabdeeli Arahi Hai (lit. 'change is coming'), mobilized people in rallies over public distress on various national issues, the most notable of which was the 2014 Azadi march.[25] In the 2018 general election, it received 16.9 million votes—the largest amount for any political party in Pakistan thus far. It then formed the national government in coalition with five other parties for the first time, with Khan serving as the new Pakistani prime minister. However, in April 2022, a no-confidence motion against Khan removed him and his PTI government from office at the federal level. Currently, the PTI governs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the provincial level and acts as the largest opposition party in Punjab while also having significant representation in Sindh.[26][27]

Officially, the PTI has stated that its focus is on turning Pakistan into a model welfare state espousing Islamic socialism,[6][28] and also on dismantling religious discrimination against Pakistani minorities.[29][8] The PTI terms itself an anti–status quo movement advocating an Islamic democracy centred on egalitarianism.[10][28][30] It claims to be the only non-dynastic party of mainstream Pakistani politics in contrast to parties such as the PPP and PML–N.[31] Since 2019, the party has been criticized by political opponents and analysts alike for its failures to address various economic and political issues, particularly the Pakistani economy, which was further weakened in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.[32][33][34] However, Khan and the PTI were later praised for leading the country's economic recovery in the pandemic's later stages.[35] During its time in power, the party faced backlash over its crackdown on the Pakistani opposition as well as its regulation of increased censorship through curbs on Pakistani media outlets and freedom of speech.[36][37][38]

The party faced challenges following the toppling of Imran Khan's government. On 2 December 2023, Gohar Ali Khan was elected unopposed as the Chairman of PTI. Imran Khan nominated him for the position of the new chairman of PTI.[39] The federal government of Pakistan is currently considering banning the party over accusations of organising violent protests and leaking classified information.[40]

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  8. ^ a b "Everyone is equal, state has no religion: Imran Khan". Dunya News. 16 April 2015. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  9. ^ [7][8]
  10. ^ a b Khan, Sidrah Moiz (27 June 2012). "'Pakistan's creation pointless if it fails to become Islamic welfare state'". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  11. ^ "Imran Khan's PTI: The New Face of Liberal Nationalism". Countercurrents.org. 25 September 2017. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
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