ISLAMABAD    -    Soon after the Supreme Court declared the dramatic arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in a graft case illegal, the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) welcomed the decision of the apex court saying that it would announce its next plan of action after consulting with the senior leadership.

The party of former prime minister Khan through its official Twitter account said that it believed in peaceful political struggle. It further hoped that all institutions concerned would take care of the security of PTI Chairman Khan while implementing the order of the SC. The PTI workers and supporters who had been holding violent protests countrywide for the last three days started jubilations and distributed sweets among one another soon after new channels broke the news about the apex court decision. Imran Khan, while he was in the courtroom, in an appeal to his supporters asked to remain peaceful as no harm should be brought to the country. “We only want elections in the country,” he added. Chief of Staff to Chairman PTI Senator Shibli Faraz in a statement while hailing the decision of Khan’s release said that “two days of relentless propaganda on media that the arrest was lawful has been blown into thin air.” PTI Secretary Information Farrukh Habib termed the decision historic, saying that the entire nation should offer ‘thanksgiving prayers’. PTI Senior leader Hammad Azhar also welcomed the decision of the apex court and announced that the PTI would celebrate the party chief’s release. “The news of Imran Khan’s release spread a wave of joy across the country,” he said PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith also took to twitter to say that “finally sense prevailed.” Meanwhile, the PTI has given a countrywide call to its workers and supporters to gather in the federal capital today for a political rally at a time when Imran Khan will be appearing before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case.