- Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali sacks the government and calls for new elections
- His party says the dissolution is "not binding" and is discussing whether to accept it
- Women's Minister Sihem Badi calls for Tunisians to unite to protect the revolution
- Opposition leader Chokri Belaid was assassinated outside his home on Wednesday
Read more on Arabic.CNN.com.
Tunis, Tunisia (CNN) -- Calm returned Thursday to the streets of the Tunisian capital, Tunis, but the political turmoil triggered a day earlier by the assassination of opposition leader Chokri Belaid continued to roil the nation.
Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, head of the moderate religious party Ennahda, sacked his Cabinet late Wednesday and called for new elections, leaving himself at the head of a caretaker government.
However, the Ennahda party said Thursday that Jebali's call to dissolve the Cabinet and offer up a new technocratic government is "not binding."
Tunisia's president: 'The extremists are a minority of a minority'
Ennahda executive bureau member Abdel Hamid Jlassi said the party was meeting now to discuss whether to accept the dissolution.
Jebali's move came soon after violent clashes broke out in front of Tunisia's Interior Ministry, where police used tear gas to disperse protesters angered by the killing of Belaid.
The slain opposition leader's family told local media his funeral would be held Friday, according to Tunisia's state-run news agency TAP.
Read more: Who will win battle for the new Tunisia?
Belaid routinely received death threats for his outspoken criticism of Tunisia's moderate Islamist-led government. He talked about the bullying on his frequent television appearances but said he didn't fear for his life.
Belaid had criticized the government, saying it was not doing enough to take on hardline Salafists.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the indications are that an extremist Salafist group may have been behind it.
Jebali urged the Tunisian people not to rush to conclusions but to await the results of investigations by judicial authorities, TAP reported.
Are you there? Send us your photos, videos, but please stay safe.
"Belaid was killed, but the real target behind the assassination is the Tunisian revolution as a whole, "Jebali said of his political adversary. "He represented the true values of dialogue, respecting and embracing others in rejecting violence. This is a political assassination."
Belaid's brother, Abdelmajid Belaid, blamed Jebali's party for the killing and angry protesters who stormed Ennahda offices Wednesday.
Support for Chokri Belaid went beyond his own party, the secular-leftist Democratic Patriots. He was the voice of a large coalition of secular opposition parties known as the Popular Front and had a reputation for decrying violence.
Interior Minister Ali al-Areed vowed to track down the killers and joined the chorus of moral indignation, calling Belaid's killing "an attack on all Tunisians." At the same time, he asked that protests remain peaceful.
"We do not want the country to fall into chaos," he said on Tunisian state TV.
Women's Minister Sihem Badi told CNN that it was important that Tunisians remain united at this difficult time.
People are worried that the upheaval may lead to a return to the situation as it was before the Arab Spring revolution, she said.
To prevent that from happening, it is vital that Tunisia remains committed to the process begun two years ago, she said, with the country's political parties, media and civil society coming together to safeguard the freedoms and democratic progress won by the people.
Read more: How a fruit seller caused revolution in Tunisia
"We must protect our revolution," she said. "We need time, we need patience, we need the agreement of many partners -- we can't work alone."
Badi said the violent protests that broke out Wednesday were a natural response to the shocking death of Belaid. But, she said, such clashes are unusual in Tunisia and she does not expect them to continue.
"We have a very difficult period now, but it's important to prepare good conditions for future elections," she said.
Belaid was shot by an unknown gunman outside his home in a quiet Tunis suburb as he left for work Wednesday morning, according to a witness.
The attack was "a clear message to Tunisians ... shut up, or we kill you," Abdelmajid Belaid said. He said his brother had been "receiving threats of murder for a long time," including a text message Tuesday.
And Chokri Belaid's widow, Basma, told Tunisian state TV: "We are damned. The political struggle is damned in Tunisia. Chokri Belaid sacrificed his soul."
Dan Rivers reported from Tunis and Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported from London. CNN's Jo Shelley and Jessica King contributed to this report.
