Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a political party in Pakistan. It was started in 1996 by famous cricketer and politician Imran Khan. He later became the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. Today, the party is led by Gohar Ali Khan. PTI is one of the three biggest political parties in Pakistan, along with the Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz and the Pakistan People's Party.

At first, PTI did not win many votes and only got one seat in elections. But over time, it grew very popular, especially when people were unhappy with the government. In the 2018 election, PTI got the most votes and formed the government with help from other smaller parties. Imran Khan became prime minister, but he was removed from office in 2022 after a vote against him.

PTI says it wants to make Pakistan a better place by helping everyone and treating all people fairly. The party is known for not being led by a family, unlike some other parties. Even though it has faced many challenges, PTI remains an important part of Pakistan's political life.

History

PTI rally in 2014 with the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) at the Minar-e-Pakistan

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) started in 1996 when Imran Khan created the party in Lahore. Khan began PTI because he was upset about corruption and rules that made it hard to help people. Many of the first members worked at a hospital Khan helped start, showing the party’s early focus on caring for others.

Over time, PTI grew from a small group to one of Pakistan’s big political parties. It included many people, such as students, workers from other parties, and leaders from many areas. PTI became famous for large rallies and using social media to talk to supporters. The party won seats in government and worked on projects like health care for everyone. Even with some disagreements and challenges, PTI stays an important part of Pakistan’s politics today.

Positions

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) wanted to change Pakistan into a fair and caring country. They looked to an ancient Islamic model for ideas. They focused on helping poor people, improving hospitals, and making schools better for everyone.

PTI also talked about making sure leaders controlled important decisions. They wanted to stop unfair treatments by police. They aimed to make rules clearer and give more power to local leaders. In elections, they promised a brighter future for Pakistan but had a hard time keeping all their promises. PTI also wanted better friendships with nearby countries and to solve disagreements with neighbors peacefully.

Organization and structure

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has a National Council that helps run the party. This group includes leaders from different areas and special groups like women, young people, and students. They choose important leaders for the party.

Then Vice-President Ejaz Chaudhary (right) with Imran Khan (centre) in the party's 2013 intra-party elections.

In 2012, PTI started big elections inside the party, letting members vote for their leaders. This was the first time a party in Pakistan did this on such a large scale. In 2023 and 2024, they held more of these elections.

PTI also has special groups for different purposes. There is a group for training members, a student group called the Insaf Student Federation, a youth group, and a research team that looks for answers to problems in Pakistan.

Office	Incumbent	Term began
Chairman	Gohar Ali Khan	3 March 2024
Vice Chairman	Shah Mahmood Qureshi	3 December 2011
President	Parvez Elahi	7 March 2023
Senior Vice President	Vacant
Senior Vice President
Senior Vice President
Senior Vice President
Secretary General	Salman Akram Raja	7 September 2024
Central Information Secretary	Sheikh Waqas Akram	26 September 2024

Designation	Name	Election Date
President of Punjab	Hammad Azhar	16 December 2023
General Secretary of Punjab	Hammad Azhar	4 June 2022
President of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	Junaid Akbar	25 January 2025
General Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	Ali Asghar Khan	3 March 2024
President of Sindh	Haleem Adil Sheikh	3 March 2024
General Secretary of Sindh	Ali Palh	3 March 2024
President of Balochistan	Dawood Shah Kakar	3 March 2024
General Secretary of Balochistan

Designation	Name
President	Kanwal Shauzab
Senior Vice President	Vacant
Vice President of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Vice President of Balochistan
Vice President of Sindh
Vice President of Punjab
President of Central Punjab	Shahnaz Tariq
General Secretary	Rubina Shaheen

Electoral performance

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) started in the 1997 general elections. Imran Khan tried to win in seven areas but did not succeed. In the 2002 general elections, Khan won a seat from Mianwali, and the party got 0.8% of all votes.

The bat remained the iconic electoral symbol of PTI from 2013 to 2023.

PTI chose not to join the Pakistani general election in 2008 because they thought the voting was not fair.

In the 2013 elections, PTI became the third-largest party in the country and the largest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In the 2018 elections, PTI won enough seats to form a government, and Imran Khan became Prime Minister.

In the 2024 elections, some key PTI leaders were in jail, and the party had many difficulties during their campaign. PTI felt they were treated unfairly and that the results in some places were changed.

General election results **National Assembly**

Electoral performance in the National Assembly
Election	Leader	Votes		Seats		Position	Result
Election	Leader	#	%	#	±	Position	Result
1997	Imran Khan	314,820	1.61	0 / 237		none	Extraparliamentary
2002		242,472	0.83	1 / 342	1	10th	In opposition
2008		Did not contest
2013		7,679,954	16.92	35 / 342	35	3rd	In opposition
2018		16,903,702	31.92	149 / 342	114	1st	In government (till 11 April 2022)
2018		16,903,702	31.92	149 / 342	114	1st	Opposition (from 11 April 2022)

Electoral Performance in Senate of Pakistan elections
Election	Leader	Votes	Seates	Position	+/–	Result
2015	Mohsin Aziz	-	9 / 104	4th	9	In Opposition
2018	Azam Khan Swati Shibli Faraz Shahzad Waseem	-	15 / 104	3rd	6	In Opposition
2021	Shahzad Waseem	–	26 / 100	1st	9	In Government
2024	Shibli Faraz	–	17 / 96	3rd	10	Opposition

Electoral performance in the Punjab Assembly
Election	Leader	Votes		Seats		Position	Resulting government
Election	Leader	#	%	#	±	Position	Resulting government
2013	Ghulam Sarwar Khan	4,951,216	17.76	30 / 371	30	2nd	PML (N) majority
2018	Sardar Usman Buzdar	11,141,139	33.65	179 / 371	149	1st	PTI coalition (till 30 April 2022)
							PML (N) coalition (from 30 April 2022 till 27 July 2022)
							PTI coalition (from 27 July 2022)

Electoral performance in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly
Election	Leader	Votes		Seats		Position	Resulting government
Election	Leader	#	%	#	±	Position	Resulting government
2013	Pervez Khattak	1,039,719	19.31	61 / 124	61	1st	PTI coalition
2018 + 2019 (ex-FATA Elections)	Mahmood Khan	2,314,387	35.32	94 / 145	33	1st	PTI majority

Electoral performance in the Sindh Assembly
Election	Leader	Votes		Seats		Position	Resulting government
Election	Leader	#	%	#	±	Position	Resulting government
2013	Khurrum Sher Zaman	609,128	6.08%	4 / 168	4	4th	PPP majority
2018	Firdous Naqvi Haleem Adil Sheikh	1,451,132	14.47%	30 / 168	26	2nd	PPP majority

Electoral performance in the Balochistan Assembly
Election	Leader	Votes		Seats		Position	Resulting government
Election	Leader	#	%	#	±	Position	Resulting government
2018	Yar Muhammad Rind	109,488	6.21	7 / 65	7	4th	BAP coalition

Electoral performance in the Gilgit Baltistan Assembly
Election	Leader	Votes		Seats		Position	Resulting government
Election	Leader	#	%	#	±	Position	Resulting government
2015	Raja Jahanzeb	42,101	11.11%	1 / 33	1	3rd	PML (N) Majority
2020	Khalid Khurshid	–	–	22 / 33	21	1st	PTI Majority

Electoral performance in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa local elections (district seats)
Election	Seats		Position
Election	#	±	Position
2015	395 / 1,484		1st

Presence across provincial assemblies

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Main articles: Pervez Khattak Administration and Gandapur ministry

In the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has ruled with a majority government three times. PTI ruled from 2013 to 2018 under the Pervez Khattak administration, from 2018 to 2023 under Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, and from 2024 to the present under the Gandapur ministry.

In the 2024 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election, Independent candidates allied with PTI won 86 seats. Ali Amin Gandapur was elected as Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for PTI. Out of these 86 seats, 58 are officially recognized as PTI members by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and Election Commission of Pakistan.

Punjab

In Punjab, PTI has been the largest opposition party twice and the ruling party once. From 2013 to 2018, PTI was the largest opposition party with 30 seats and Mehmood-ur-Rasheed was the opposition leader. From 2018 to 2022 PTI was the ruling party, with Usman Buzdar as Chief Minister of Punjab. From 2024 to now, PTI is the opposition party in the Punjab Assembly.

In the 2024 Punjab provincial election, Independent candidates allied with PTI won the second-most seats. Out of these, 29 have been recognized as PTI members by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and Election Commission of Pakistan, while the remaining seats are officially with the Sunni Ittehad Council.

Sindh

In Sindh, PTI was the largest opposition party from 2018 to 2022, with Firdous Shamim Naqvi and Haleem Adil Sheikh as Leader of the Opposition in the Provincial Assembly of Sindh. PTI is now an opposition party in Sindh since 2024 after PTI-backed members won 10 seats. Out of these, 6 are recognized as PTI and 4 are with the Sunni Ittehad Council.

PTI has a political alliance with the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) against PPP.

Provincial assembly	Seats	Status
Provincial assembly	Seats	In government	Single largest party	Majority/coalition
AJK Legislative Assembly	19 / 53	No	Yes	Opposition
Provincial Assembly of Balochistan	0 / 65	—N/a	—N/a	No presence
Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly	22 / 33	Yes	Yes	Majority
Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	58 / 145	Yes	Yes	Majority
Provincial Assembly of Punjab	29 / 371	No	No	Opposition
Provincial Assembly of Sindh	6 / 168	No	No	In Opposition

Controversies

Main article: PTI foreign funding case

Further information: May 9 riots, 2023 Pakistani protests, and Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has faced some challenges and disputes. One big issue was a legal case about the party’s funding from outside Pakistan. This led to the arrest of its founder, Imran Khan.

The party also held large protests in 2014. These protests caused problems in Islamabad, the capital city, and led to clashes with law enforcement.

In 2023, after Imran Khan’s arrest, some of the party’s supporters took part in protests. During these protests, some government buildings were damaged. The party’s leaders said they were not involved and felt they were unfairly blamed. These events caused tension between the party and government authorities.