KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has demanded Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to step down for pushing the country into serious crisis.

In his statement issued to media on Sunday, Khan also called upon the interior minister and minister of law to resign from their respective posts.

"Time has come for the puppet prime minister and other members of his cabinet to go home," he said.

The statement by the PTI chief came amid continuing protests across the country, which began Saturday after police and paramilitary personnel cracked down on Islamabad sit-in staged by a religious group.

The PTI chairman said the "spark in the name of operation engulfed the entire country."

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Protests held in Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have so far resulted in at least one death and left dozens injured, besides the 250 injuries reported in Islamabad.

Protesters in Islamabad renewed violence early Sunday as they resorted to arson and pelted stones at police. They set fire to five motorcycles and a car belonging to the police near I-8 sector earlier today, police said.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa agreed not to use force to disperse protesters in Islamabad during a high-level meeting on Sunday, according to sources.

During the meeting, the two officials exchanged views on the matter and tried to formulate a plan of action.

The COAS affirmed that the army will act according to the law and Constitution of the country, sources said.

It has been learnt the army chief was on a visit to the United Arab Emirates and cut short his trip to reach the country last night.