After a lot of ground level struggle and hard work, the PTI emerged as one of the major political parties of Pakistan in 2013 general election. The party's emphasis on anti-corruption, good governance, and social justice struck a chord with many Pakistanis, especially the youth. During that period the PTI witnessed an all-time peak support from civilians and state institutions.
COVID-19 proved to be a challenge because due to the pandemic and bad economic conditions with increasing inflation, the PTI’s government was criticised. Another nightmare to the political stability of Pakistan as well as PTI proved to be the “No Confidence Motion” against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The first blood of PTI was drawn when some of its own party members and allies disowned the party and voted against Imran Khan. After the ouster of Imran Khan in April 2022, the country has gone through various economic upheavals and socio-political instabilities. This first dagger in the back of Pakistan’s largest political party was based on the contrast of personal interests where people whose interests were not being served by Imran Khan’s government chose to leave the party.
In the meantime, a lot of political gatherings and large media campaigns were led by the PTI chairman, to pressurise the government for early elections and their ouster. Following an assassination attempt on Imran Khan, he was arrested from the premises of Islamabad High Court, which led to May 9 incident, leading towards large social chaos and infrastructural as well as human losses. State institutions were also targeted by extremist ragged mob.
The weak chains of political relations within the party were completely broken after the large number of arrests of political leaders of PTI. Many of the members of PTI resigned from the party positions which exposed the internal conflicts within the party.
The internal conflicts within the PTI further led to the resignation of many of the senior leadership of the party. Two new political parties, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians, both comprised of large number of ex-PTI members filled the vacuum.
The Istehkam-e-Pakistan party is being led by Jahangir Tareen, a former PTI member and a close ally of the PTI chairman, Imran Khan. Whereas, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians is led by Pervez Khattak, the Ex-Chief Minister of KPK, who remained one of Imran Khan’s closest friends and supporters.
The resignation of the senior leadership of PTI can be termed as the political assassination of PTI. The major elitist stake holders of the current PDM government have successfully executed the plan of the assassination of PTI as the largest political party of Pakistan. Whereas the question of survival still remains as whether PTI could evolve out of this situation with resilience and succeed without its renowned top-brass leadership.
The journey of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has been one of remarkable struggle and achievements. From its inception in 1996 to becoming a major political force in Pakistan, the PTI faced both peaks and challenges. The outbreak of COVID-19 and subsequent economic hardships, combined with the "No Confidence Motion" and internal conflicts, tested the resilience of the party. Today as it stands, the PTI's ability to adapt and evolve will determine its future trajectory in the ever-changing political landscape of Pakistan.