ISLAMABAD    -    Amid the ongoing un­rest in the country af­ter the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in a graft case, the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday decid­ed to expand the scope of its protests country­wide till the release of its party chief.

The party also decid­ed that it would contin­ue its protests through­out the country till “safe release” of Chairman PTI Imran Khan. The decisions were taken in an important meeting of the PTI leadership and members of the Emergency Committee.

Separately, Vice Chair­man PTI Shah Mah­mood Qureshi also held an important meeting of all regional and district heads to make a strat­egy on the next plan of action and to convey the message of Khan to them. Ac­cording to an office bearer of PTI’s Central Secretariat, the leadership has planned that they would mobilize the city and district heads of the par­ty to ensure that the protests continue till the achievement of their target. In a state­ment, Qureshi also urged PTI workers and supporters to reach the designated pro­test sites, as detentions and intimidations could not stop them, which would be con­tinued across the country till the safe release of party chief Khan. He said that PTI district and city presidents would continue to mobilize peaceful protests, as nothing could stop them come what may. He expressed his appre­hension that the PTI workers were concerned about the safety and security of Khan because at present he was in custody of those whom he considered a real threat to his life. He also expressed his surprise over the Punjab government’s decision to call in the Army in aid to civil ad­ministration in the province for maintaining law and or­der situation.