Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Encyclopedia
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is a political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is "Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem".

Founding

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was founded by [Imran Khan] on April 25th, 1996 in Lahore, Pakistan. The constitution of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was approved on January 24th, 1999 by the CEC in Lahore, Pakistan.

The PTI manifesto states "The PTI agenda of resurgence articulates the long neglected aspirations of our people and spells out the vision of a modern Islamic republic that advocates tolerance, moderation and freedom to practice the religion of one’s choice." (PTI Manifesto)

The constitution was approved by the Central Executive Committee of the party under the Chairmanship of Mr. Imran Khan, Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf at Lahore on 24 January 1999.
Whereas:

Creation of Pakistan was the result of relentless struggle of Muslims in India under the inspiring- leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah to establish a homeland where they could practice their beliefs and Ideals.

Pakistan was envisaged as a country and society wherein people would live in harmony and peace free from exploitation corruption and prejudices of all kind under a democratic system ensuring justice, equality and prosperity for all citizens.

Concentration of power at the center has negated the spirit of federalism causing a sense of deprivation amongst the federating units which has resulted, in narrow parochialism, ethnicity and division among the people that led to separation of East Pakistan and continues to threaten the integrity and solidarity of Pakistan.

Pakistan fell into the hands of ruling elite consisting of inept, corrupt. and selfish politicians, feudals, civil and military bureaucrats and other vested interests who have plundered Pakistan and have brought it to the brink of disaster.

Colonial system of Government and feudal hold of society nourished a dependency syndrome, which has created a chronic debt-dependent economy curbing initiative and self-reliance.

Justice has disappeared from all walks of life and the state institutions have lost credibility.

The common citizen is deprived of access to basic necessities of life such as food, education, employment, health care, clothing, housing and transportation and has been, made victim of violence in society, breakdown of law and order, institutionalized corruption, tyranny of police and other government departments.

Jammu and Kashmir has remained an incomplete agenda of Pakistan Movement.

Pakistan stands at the threshold of economic disaster, breakdown of institutions, collapse of governance, social disorder, desperation and disillusionment.

These were the issues raised in making of a new political party.

Manifesto and Goals

As per policy, the following Goals are defined by PTI.

1. Establish Pakistan as a truly independent and sovereign state that becomes a source of pride for the people.

2. Strengthen state institutions to promote democracy and complete political, economic and religious freedom for the people.

3. Provide an accountable and efficient government that ensures the protection of life and property of its citizens.

4. Launch an Education Revolution to promote universal literacy and raise the standard of education in our schools, colleges and universities.

5. Ensure the availability of adequate Healthcare services for all citizens.

6. Highest priority to poverty alleviation through policies aimed at creating more job opportunities and enabling ownership of assets to the poor.

7. A merit based system that provides equal opportunity for employment and upward social mobility for all, specially the working classes

8. Create an environment which encourages the private sector to grow and create greater wealth and employment opportunities.

9. End the VIP culture by setting an example in simple living and an austere lifestyle.

10. Eliminate draconian laws that give unchecked power to Police and the Agencies or which limit the rights of Citizens.

11. A self reliant economy which is free of dependence on foreign aid.

12. Promote regional peace and strengthen our relationships with friendly countries.

Hamid Khan(Senior Vice President)

- Member Pakistan Bar Council
- Former President Supreme Court Bar Council
- Member of the council that won the case of Chief Justice Iftakhar M Chaudhry
- One of the prominent Lawyer's Leader in restoration of judges movement.

Yusuf Malik Gabol (Vice President)

Belongs to a well known political family of Sindh, who have been in politics for four generations since pre partition.

His Grandfather Khan Bahadhur Sardar Allah Bux Khan Gabol was an MLA Bombay legislative Assembly, which governed Sindh at the time. He was also the Deputy Speaker of Sindh, and Mayor of Karachi.

Yusuf is an MBA from London and LLB from London UK, and has been associated with PTI since 1998.

Admiral Jawaid Iqbal (Vice President)

Vice Admiral (Rtd) Pakistan Navy and Former Ambassador; also the PTI Spokesman for military affairs.

Air Marshal (rtd) Shahid Zulfiqar (Vice President)

Born 1945 lahore, commissioned in PAF June 1964 and retired 1998 as Air Marshal. Was MD Shaheen Foundation for 2 years. Masters in Defence studies from Karachi University and MA Strategic studies from Quaid e Azam University. Was asked to be a candidate during 2002 elections from NA 125 and secured 6500 votes. Stayed on with the party as Deputy Secretary General and then acting Secretary General.

Ejaz Ahmad Chaudhary (Vice President & RO South Punjab )

He is B.Sc. Civil Engineering from University of Engineering & Technology (UET), Lahore. He started his political career with Jamat-e-Islami and was Rukan of Jamat-e-Islami. He is Son-in-Law of formal Ameer-e-Jamat Mian Tufail. He was removed from Jamaat after the charges of corruption within the party. Later he joined Pakistan Tehreeq-e-Insaaf and selected as vice president.

Arif Alvi (Secretary General)

1. BDS (Dentistry) from University of Punjab(1970)

2. Master of Science in Prosthodontics from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor(1975)

3. Master of Science in Orthodontics from University of Pacific, San Francisco(1984)

4. Dean Faculty of Orthodontics (College of Physicians and Surgeons)(2000-07)

5. Diplomate American Boards of Orthodontics(1995)

6. Professor of Prosthodontics (Honorary) Karachi Medical and Dental College(1996-2005)

Omar Sarfaraz Cheema(Central Information Secretary)

Profession : Actively involved in Agriculture and livestock & Dairy Services Sector since 1991.
He studied Law in Punjab College back in 1990. Currently he holds the position of CEO Livestock and Dairy Services Company.

Mrs. Fauzia Kasuri (Women Wing President and Member ISC )

Bachelor of Arts from Karachi University, St.Joseph's College,Khi.

Graduate School at University of North Carolina, NC, USA.

First Part of the MBA program at UNC, NC.

Currently completing Masters in International Relations, PunjabUniversity.

Sardar Azhar Tariq Khan (Central Finance Secretary and member ISC)

Graduate Peshawar University

Specialized courses - 23 years experience in Investment Banking/Leasing Co.

Spokespersons

As per policy of PTI, a collective of experts is established as spokespersons for that particular field. The following people are the official spokespersons of PTI.

Naeem ul Haque (Spokesperson Finance and Economic affairs)

He has thirty five years experience in banking, finance, corporate sector and law in Pakistan, London and New York. Fully conversant with the investment banking, capital markets and corporate environment in Pakistan, UK and USA. He is an M.A. (English Literature) University of Karachi(1970). Later on he did LL.B. from Sindh Muslim Law College Karachi. (1971) and Certificate in Advanced Banking, American Institute of Bankers, New York. (1977)

Shamsa Ali (Women Development)

She holds an LL.B from S. M. Law College Karachi (1982) and Bachelors of Arts degree from Kinnaird College, Lahore (1966). She is a practicing lawyer. She currently resides on the panel of advocates of Justice Division of the Federal Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary affairs. In March 2002 she was appointed as an expert on the Committee to draft the proposed amendments in the Family Laws of Pakistan by Federal Ministry of Women' Development. She also remained a member executive Lahore High Court Bar between 2005-06 and 2008-09.

She is author of the book The Quranic Society -A Treatise on Women’s Rights, and 6 other research papers on women rights.

Dr. Shireen Mazari (Spokesperson (Advisor) Foreign Affairs)

Shireen M. Mazari, PhD, is a Pakistan political scientist and a prominent geostrategist, currently serving as Director-General of the Foreign Affairs Tank (FAT) of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf. She is currently working as the editor of the daily The Nation newspaper and as the Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf political party. She has also served as the Director General of The Institute of Strategic Studies, a think-tank based in Islamabad and was until recently a regular columnist at the daily The News International. She former served as professor of Military Science at the Quaid-e-Azam University.

Sadaqat Ali Abbassi (Spokesperson for Education)

He holds MS in Economics, MPhil in Economics and an MS degree in Information Technology.

Firdous Naqvi (Spokesperson for Commerce & Industries)

He holds Masters in Highway Design and Materials from University of Michigan Ann Arbor (1981), a Masters in Construction Management, University of Michigan Ann Arbor (1980) and a Bachelor in Civil Engineering (Structure), NED Engineering University Karachi (1979).

He has been Director House of Habib, Karachi since 1984. He was also appointed Director Business Development Makro-Habib Pakistan Ltd, in July 2005. He also remained Senior Director Commercial Makro-Habib Pakistan Ltd, Lahore from Nov.2008 to Feb.2010. He was also Chief Executive of Baluchistan Concrete and Blocks Ltd. between 1984–1998.

Other positions he held include
1. Director Tractebel Khaleej Power, Karachi 1994–1988

2. Projects controller RAPCO Roads, Abu Dhabi 1982- 1984

3. Office Engineer Mergentime Corporation, New Jersey 1979- 1982

Dr. Hamayun Mohmand (Spokesperson Healthcare)

He is a bachelors in Medicine and Surgery from Ayub Medical College Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Dr. Farid Malik (Spokesperson Science and Technology)

He did his Ph.D in Materials Engg. from Union Institute Cincinnati, Ohio in 1988. He also holds an MS in Metallurgical Engg. from University of Arizona, Tucson (1981) and BS in Metallurgical Engg. & Material Science University of Punjab (1976). He also held position of president , Pakistan student association in University of Arizona.

He also held chairmanship of Pakistan Science Foundation from 2002-05. Since 2005 he is Professor Operations Management FCC University Lahore.

Brig (R) Simon Samson Sharaf (Spokesperson Defence productions)

He is a Post Graduate from Quaid e Azam University. He specializes is International Political Economy with sharp focus on Nuclear Policy Making and Security. He also contributed in Nuclear Policy Making and Pakistan's Future War to the Defence Establishment of Pakistan

Currently he is Rector of St. Mary’s College, the first Catholic Higher education Institution in Pakistan and CEO of both Ecotech International Inc. USA and WaterTech Private Limited, Pakistan.

General elections

Less than one year after its founding, PTI contested its first elections in the 1997 general elections
Pakistani general election, 1997
A general election was held in Pakistan on 3 February 1997 to elect the National Assembly of Pakistan and the four provincial assemblies. The election took place after the previous Pakistan Peoples Party government of Benazir Bhutto was dismissed by President Farooq Leghari for alleged corruption...

, when Khan unsuccessfully stood from seven constituencies. In the 2002 general elections
Pakistani general election, 2002
General elections were held in Pakistan on 10 October 2002 during the military regime of Pervez Musharraf.-Parties and candidates:More than 70 parties, contested the election, the main parties were the Peoples Party Parliamentarians, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Group, Muttahida Quami Movement ,...

, the party won 0.8% of the popular vote with 1 out of 272 elected members.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, for the first time since its founding in 1996, did not contest the Pakistani general election
Pakistani general election, 2008
A general election was held in Pakistan on 18 February 2008, after being postponed from 8 January 2008. The original date was intended to elect members of the National Assembly of Pakistan, the lower house of the Majlis-e-Shoora...

 on 18 February 2008. The reason given was that Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is the current Chief Justice of Pakistan.He became chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court in 2005 and soon became not only a central figure in the nation's political struggles but an icon to the country's legal profession and others campaigning for the rule of law...

 was put under house arrest by General (ret.) Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...

 and not allowed to work.

Insaf Student Federation

Insaf Student Federation is the official student wing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. ISF is present in all provinces of Pakistan.

Membership drive

The membership campaign was started by Imran Khan
Imran Khan
Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...

 for PTI to make it more famous and make the people of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 know its agenda more deeply. The 'membership drive' is still going on and has been successful till date. Also it was given an indication that the campaign will be spread country-wide and will surely cover the populated areas of the country.
The membership campaign arranged by the party is a unique one, with number 'floats' roaming the specified cities with huge banners on them of the party and Imran Khan. Also a documentary named
'Nijat-e-Dahinda (The Saviour)' is shown on screen, in which the vision of the chairman and the manifesto of the party is explained. In the end of the documentary, Imran Khan appears and gives a message to the people to join the party and strengthen its hands.

The party is predominantly funded by wealthy benefactors who live in Europe and North America.

Lahore

PTI started its membership drive with the slogan of 'change' from Lahore on 16 Nov 2008 and ended it on 1 Dec 2008 with the chairman of the party Imran Khan giving a speech at Nasir Bagh, where more than 4000 people gathered.
The membership was very successful and near 1,50,000 people with more than 500 lawyers joined the party. This was a great shock to all the mainstream parties of Pakistan (PML(N)
Pakistan Muslim League (N)
The Pakistan Muslim League is a conservative political party in Pakistan, affiliated with Western conservatism...

, PML(Q)
Pakistan Muslim League (Q)
The Pakistan Muslim League or officially Pakistan Muslim League is a centrist, modern political party in Pakistan. The present form of PML-Q was formed prior to 2002 general elections....

, PPP
Pakistan Peoples Party
The Pakistan Peoples Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International. Pakistan People's Party is the largest political party of Pakistan...

) as Tehreek-e-Insaf was always considered as very little party with no supporters at all. This was also an indication that people in Lahore started to think PTI as a substitute for the always leading political party, PML(N)
Pakistan Muslim League (N)
The Pakistan Muslim League is a conservative political party in Pakistan, affiliated with Western conservatism...

. The membership made PML(Q)
Pakistan Muslim League (Q)
The Pakistan Muslim League or officially Pakistan Muslim League is a centrist, modern political party in Pakistan. The present form of PML-Q was formed prior to 2002 general elections....

 start its own membership campaign on the pattern of PTI, but it was not able to get any attention. Also other parties like Pakistan Muslim League(N) and Pakistan Peoples Party have jumped into ground and started to popularize their parties in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

.

Rawalpindi/Islamabad

The membership dive was further extended and taken to Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...

/Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...

, which started on 15 Dec 2008 and ended on 17 Dec 2008. No warm welcome was given by the people of these joint cities to the membership campaign of Tehreek-e-Insaf. Even though the weather was not a favorable one to the membership drive from the day it started, still people of these cities came out and joined PTI. Most of the people joining were lawyers, students, and people from lower-middle class. Also a great number of women were seen at the camps and floats to join the party same as Lahore.

Peshawar

The next city chosen was Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....

. This city is the capital of NWFP
North-West Frontier Province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...

. It is to be noted that survey conducted by International Republican Institute(IRI)
International Republican Institute
Founded in 1983, the International Republican Institute is an organization, funded by the United States government, that conducts international political programs, sometimes labeled 'democratization programs'....

, in 2007, showed PTI as the second most popular party in this province. The membership campaign was to be started on the same day as on Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...

, but due to some problems it was delayed till 20 December 2008. This didn't give any setback to the campaign and the people of the city responded the same as the other cities and around 2,000 members were made from a single camp on the first day, which was a great success. Same as the other citites, mostly educated persons were seen to be joining PTI. Here the number of women appearing on the camps was less than the other cities camps due to some cultural prohibitions but many old people, ranging from 75–85 years, were seen to be joining PTI. After 8 days of campaigning, around 600 people joined PTI.
Also the chairman of the party, Imran Khan went to Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....

 on 23 December 2008, during the membership campaign. It proved to be an historic event as thousands of people gathered there to welcome him.

Other cities

This membership campaign has been further extended to Faisalabad
Faisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...

, and around 80,000 members were made from this city. The next cities where the membership is to be started, as the sources tell, are Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...

 and Gujranwala
Gujranwala
Gujranwala is a industrial city in the north-east of the Punjab province. It is the sixth largest city in Pakistan with a population of approximately 2,661,360 as on 24 June 2011...

.

See also

  • Imran Khan
    Imran Khan
    Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...

  • Insaf Student Federation
  • List of student federations of Pakistan

External links

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