After a reckless sojourn (during which the situation went from bad to worse in terms of political standing), the PTI and PML-N have finally signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to constitute a judicial commission that will investigate allegations of rigging in the 2013 general elections.

That means the PTI might just finally send its MNAs back to the National Assembly (from which they had resigned during the protests of yesteryear), something they had promised to do two weeks ago on condition that a formal notification of the constitution of a judicial commission is issued.

So, we may see things returning to (relative) normalcy soon.

Also read: Is the judicial commission ‘constitutional’?

The decision to return to Parliament has been met with approval from all and sundry, and it indicates that the PTI has finally realised that the cost of exclusion has become too much to bear. More importantly, at a stage when all sense of purpose has evapourated from the party ranks, re-enlisting for the Parliament might prove to be the optimal course of action.

But even as PTI now takes steps in the spirit of common sense, the retrospective list of what the PTI did wrong to end up in this situation does not make for light reading.

Bitter in his defeat in the 2013 elections and refusing to rejoice on what was a historical achievement for a relatively nascent enterprise, Imran Khan did not waste any time to question the legitimacy of the electoral exercise, and threatened to unleash a country-wide protest movement.

Also read: Imagine a different Imran

During the same time, the ruling regime shot itself in the foot with the Model Town incident in Lahore, and an opportunity presented itself to unleash the tsunami.

For weeks on end, the loyalists and the undecided danced alike to the tunes of change ringing from Islamabad’s D-Chowk.

At its height, the dharna was a formidable reality, and for a moment or two, it looked like history was on the verge of repeating itself, intervention-wise.

Not only did the PTI mount continuous attacks on the street, it also pulled a stunt straight out of the Aam Admi Party’s (AAP) playbook when all of its MNAs resigned from their official seats.

During those days, the Captain was in full-on attack mode, and the opposition was afraid to do anything whatsoever. With each passing day, Khan would up the ante and look ceremoniously towards the ‘umpire’, waiting for a verdict.

The verdict did come, but unfortunately for the PTI, it was not one they were ready to accept. As much as we like to draw parallels between cricket and politics, the Pakistani political system has not yet achieved the technological heights of a referral system.

For better or for worse, the umpire’s decision stood, and the government sighed in relief. The PTI rhetoric became stiflingly repetitive, the throngs grew thinner, and Khan’s dream slowly began to fade away.

When the protest was finally called off in the wake of the Peshawar school attack, much of its steam had already been lost.

Take a look: Open letter to Imran Khan, from a PTI voter

Throughout the past couple of years, the PTI’s rise to fame has been made out into a story of a party of change that presents itself to the grief-stricken Pakistani masses with the ‘third option’. The party harps on and on about its ‘clean’ image, and maligns the others for lacking the same.

However, there is a significant disconnect between what the party says and what it does.

Far from being the catalyst of change, PTI is fast cementing its place as a traditional political outfit, bent on acquiring power by all means necessary.

If the hues and cries of the neglected in KPK weren’t enough; the siding with a candidate of questionable credentials for the Multan by-elections to secure the win; the deals with arch-rivals PML-N for the Senate elections; the recent ignominy over a vocal party member’s academic records; and the crude silencing of dissent within the party, have had the PTI on the backfoot.

The latest addition to the list is the leaked phone call recording, and the fervour with which the PTI pounces on such leaks when the target is someone else – and the maturity it belies when the roles are reversed – leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Read on: Hamza Ali Abbasi resigns as PTI's culture secretary

But beyond the immediate concerns with damage control, the PTI still has a long way to go in internalising the institutional values it touts. The party still largely operates as a personality cult, and lacks mechanisms for inclusive decision-making.

In this regard, going through the grind of parliamentary politics is sure to give valuable training to the PTI folk in matters of negotiation and compromise. But for that to happen, the party will have to return to the ground like us mortals, and earn its way to the top.

The party's fascination with power plays on the rubric of the greater good for the people, but the danger is that in the absence of discipline that keeps ambition in check, more wrong has been done by people who think they are doing the right thing.