The PTI chairman toured the damaged Army Public School, where 148 people, mostly school children, were killed on Tuesday following an attack by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
He toured the damaged parts of the school and later met with the victims’ families to offer condolences.
Security was tightened upon his arrival and anyone entering the school was thoroughly checked before they could pass through.
Later on, Imran also visited the residence of the school's principal Tahira Qazi, who was among the people who were killed in the brutal attack.
During a press conference in Peshawar late Monday afternoon, Imran said border control on the Pakistan-Afghanistan is crucial to combat terrorism.
“Waging a war [against militancy] is difficult but not impossible,” the PTI chairman said. “We need to unite to fight the menace of terrorism,” he added.
Further, Imran said that the police in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) are not fully equipped to fight terrorism.
“The police force isn’t trained to fight terrorism and they need to be provided with intelligence by the federal government,” he said.
Imran also said that Frontier Corps (FC) should be deployed back to the tribal areas as the reason why the force was formed in the first place was to look over tribal areas.
“Around 5,000 police personnel should be recruited from the tribal areas and be deployed in K-P,” Imran said.
The army is currently engaged in operations, Zarb-e-Azb and Khyber-I, against militants in North Waziristan and Khyber Agency.
Addressing the issue of internally displaced people (IDPs) in K-P, Imran requested the federal government to provide financial assistance to the provincial government to provide the IDPs with facilities like food, shelter and education.
Moreover, he also said that illegal refugees from Afghanistan should be sent back.
He also stressed that when schools reopen after winter break, a security plan should be formed beforehand and a person within the school should be given the duty of reporting any suspicious activity through a special mobile phone “with the hit of just one button.”
COMMENTS (62)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1734587529-0/Express-Tribune-(1)1734587529-0-270x192.webp "pakistan to host another icc event")
@Waseem:
And by the same token, IK should also have realized that Nawaz Sharif is the Prime Minister of Pakistan and not Raiwind.
Two wrongs never make one right. Shahbaz Sharif's statement was wrong then and he was rightly criticized. No one is a saint in this country and everyone has committed their share of blunders. Who'd forget the sight of the then governor NWFP and Corp Commander Peshawar garlanding Nek Mohammad on the occasion of Shakai Agreement back in 2004.
@Adnan Siddiqi: Ironic isn’t it that today IK was on the verge of begging money from the same bogus Federal Government and the same rigged Prime Minister.
“Be sure to taste your own words before you spit them out………you just may have to eat them again one day.”
Like the money came from Raiwind palace. it is the money of Pakistani people and not the sole discretion the Holy Highnss Nawaz Sharif.
And second thing is if Ik is late what about the famous quote of the Punjab Chief Minister who asked taliban not to attack Punjab because they had the same ideology. And what about the links of Rana Sanaullah with these banned outfits. Please check your own data before speaking.
Crocodile tears!
Where was IK''s 'unity' when TTP bombed Karachi airport, Wagha border, and broke jails in Bannu ? Where was he when IDPs needed them ? The truth is he is a liar. His real intentions are staging dharnas against democraticallt elected government, opening TTP office in Peshawar, blocking NATO containers, and pulling Military out of Tribal Areas.
Amazing to see how obsessive Noora supporters and pippliyaas are. Terrorism can nt be stopped without intelligence. As pointed out by ALL news channal... the 32 billion requested by Ch Nisar for intelligence was denied by... none other than NS (Ishaq Daar). Plenty of blame to go arround at eevry one. But lets pretend we do not know that.
@raider, You are absolutely right and I agree with you that all the damages are caused by your lord Hazrat Imran Niazi. Also when you got no rational and a logical answers, then everyone here is a paid troll. Good Luck my dear.
@WSD: Way to go bro, the most "wise" comment I see here is from you! This should also apply to media. It never happens anywhere else in the world but here in PK.
"Humaare log (Taliban)" - Imran Khan
Ironic isn't it that today IK was on the verge of begging money from the same bogus Federal Government and the same rigged Prime Minister.
"Be sure to taste your own words before you spit them out.........you just may have to eat them again one day."
@Parvez:
"How may mistakes are we to put up with ?"
The kind of internet based followers you see around here, Hazrat Niazi Banigala Sharif can commit ten additional blunders like the one at Army Public School and his cult worshiping followers will still expect him to bring "Change" and make Pakistan "Naya" - in Punjab only.
Very sad Imran Khan takes so long to say few words about Talibans , its only lip service in fact Imran Khan has openly said Talibans should be allowed to open their office in Pakistan, when Pak army was attacking Talibans in NW Imran Khan said Pak army is attacking our Nation. Its time Taliban sympathizers like Imran Khan be banned for ever.
IK is a sorry case. A twisted liar who blames others for everything wrong and never wants to do anything on his own. He should start by firing the dancing CM.
@Muneer:
I am very much wide awake since 14th August and have seen one conspiracy after another foiled against this country and democracy. It's about time that you folks bothered to come out of this phony "Change" and "Naya" mode.
@Raghu: IK needs to get a life and you should follow. IK was looking for a face saving exit and cashed in.
Define a quintessential "Troll" logic:
If the KPK Police does anything good - It is because of the good governance and vision of IK If something as grotesque as Army Public School occurs - Law and Order is a federal subject
Crisis Management Cell of the Interior Ministry issued an alert for the provisional government in KPK and IGP KPK Police back on 28th August which specifically stated the splinter group of TTP that was reconnoitering schools and educational institutes run by the armed forces in Peshawar for intended targets of terrorist attacks. What did the PTI & JI led KPK government do in this regard? It was conspiring to overthrow the federal government in Islamabad with the help of a rent-a-mullah from Canada and a full scale assault on state institutions was launched on the night of 30th August.
This is a negligence of criminal proportions and if the Kaptaan himself does not ask his CM to resign, then the federal government should punish the KPK government by imposing governor rule there.
You missed the boat Imran Khan......and that is like political suicide. How may mistakes are we to put up with ?
@Zahir: what could be done to the paid trolls
@Zahir: yes peoples have given him the nishan haider of defeat, u guy commenting as if all the damages caused to Pakistan was conspired by imran khan
@Adnan Siddiqi: it is the failure of fedral administration and intelligence agencies, imran khan earlier and even today explained that police is unable to cop with this menace rather not equipped financially and belligerently
Imran Khan is 17 months too late. He should have woken up to the reality of the dismal security situation in the province he governs when the prison break in DI Khan happened in July, 2013. We begged him to. Instead he focused his energies on childish power-grabs and dharnas. Had he woken up to the need to fight terrorism then perhaps these innocent children would still be alive. As a citizen of Peshawar, its hard to imagine worse governmental ineptitude than the current PTI government in KPK.
@Adnan Siddiqi:
Wake up Adnan
Whever I see picture of Imran Khan with people, I can't stop my tears. It just happens automatically, How can someone be so loved so much by any one whether rich or poor or belonging to any cast or region or province. Allah has given him more respect than anyone in Pakistan at the moment and he surely deserves it.
I think people should wake up ..its IK second visit. another point is that if there was someone responsible for the tragic incident then it was Army not federal or KPK govt. Thirdly, We (from individual to govt, Court and army) all are responsible for this event because we have been supporting corrupt, murderers and selfish leaders for past decades...Crimes will be there till people don't get justice and till the poverty is not eradicated ...We need equal education for all ...
@straightshooter: IK was there on day one. This is his second visit.
@Javed, Please call spade a spade! Thanks God, at least you know that the government is spending billions on projects and creating new jobs for the people of Pakistan and not wasting trillions in conspiracies to topple the elected government. I personally believe that Imran Niazi doesn't know what is a statesmanship at all. and why don't you drag Javed Hashmi into the courts for his wrong revelations? Why Imran Niazi is not filing case against Khawaja Asif for blaming him for gambling of Zakat/Khairat funds? Even PTI's founding member (Akber) have not been answered for his recent application to the ECP against PTI's missing funds? Is that statesmanship?
Respectfully Sir,
These terrorist are inside Pakistani borders, yet there leadership maybe in Afghanistan. It is important to increase border control but we should not be like Afghanistan or Hindustan by pointing fingers rather be realistic and cleanse the terrorist and its sympathizers in our tribal area and the ones hiding in our cities/streets.
Pakistanis need to be more vigilant and Pakistan shall develop characteristics of these terrorist activities and educate its population so that it will be easier to distinguish between terrorist and ordinary civilian, as these terrorist take advantage of their similarity with us...
May Allah bless Pakistan and its peaceful residents.
EVEN Mamnoon Hussain found time for it before Imran Khan.
SECURE THE BORDERS - SECURE THE BORDERS - SECURE THE BORDERS
Immediately identify the Pakistanis who illegally approved the issuance of Pak ID cards and passports to Afghans, Bangladeshis - ensure they face the full force of the law
That will immediately deter others.
Then immediately deport ALL illegal immigrants, as the US, Australia and European countries do.
Then have a humane programe to repatriate ALL Afghan refugees over a 12 - 18 month period.
@Zahir
We should not blame any single one in case of terrorism specifically. It can be easily said that Punjab govt was informed for Wahga border attact but they did not do anything ? Same for sind and Balochistan ? Our police is not fully equipped and independent to tack criminal day to day matters, do you expect war kind of control of them ? Its unfair but we need to train them and equip the modern technology but what we are doing we dont have 30Billions for NECTA but we have enough Billions for Matrobus, is it priority ? If you think logically and fairly you will simply say no....
You remember words of Sharifs that please dont do anything in Punjab and we will not take any action against you ? do you remember, please dont do politics on this matter as IK showed great statesmanship but unfortunately your mind is same silly and blocked like NS think.
Be come out from your personal catharsis and forget past, show your commitment for future otherwise stay like NS even he will come 10 times in government he will be having same road plan...
Imran's inclusion will strengthen our resolve against Taliban. Now he has become our real Imran Khan.
Imran Khan and the religious parties have still not criticized this act by naming TTP.
KPK government was warned of this attack long ago and been informed very specifically that the target will be the children of army personnel. IK spent plenty of time in conspiracies to topple the federal government, but he could not. Now he was on his knees and looking for an opportunity to terminate his dharnas which he found it finally. People of Pakistan will never forgive him for what he did to the country. Baghi (former elected president of the PTI) should have been awarded with the 'Nishan e Jamhoriat' for his revelations. Thank you Javed Hashmi.
Imran give a back to its political struggle at a time when it was on its peak, credit deserved.
Can everyone commenting here leave politics aside for now. Who is for riddance from taliban and who's not, actions need to speak louder than words. Everyone is making right noises nowadays, but we need to wait and watch.
Also, lets make sure that we ourselves don't forget this, like we've been forgetting many tragedies of huge magnitude before this.
A friendly reminder to all: The paid commentators here will deliberately ignore what was done by Imran Khan immediately after the disaster i. e. 1. Immediate visit to hospitals 2. Suspension of protest 3. Call-off of the nation wide strike. 4. Directing the KPK government to issue stringent notices to the police and all the communal buildings.
Please pay no heed to paid commentators, but hold no enmity with them. Our nation is facing tough time.
Lets be rational. A trip like this takes time to organise. IK cant just waltz in anywhere, security measures need to be taken in an area such as this.
In reply to some of the comments, IK was in Peshawar on day one and visited the injured in the hospitals. This is his trip to the school building.
@Adnan Siddiqi: People like u are the reason why pakistan is so messed up and the politucuan leader dont care fixing it coz they know people like ur vision will back them
@adnan siddiqi Patwaris continue their malicious propaganda and hatred campaign against IK even after Peshawar incident. Get your facts right man before you accuse KPK govt.-- It's an army run school. Secondly, who introduced the ban on hanging of beasts-- their master MNS, and it was MNS who wasted public money on silly metro, motorway, laptop etc programs for his own vested interest ignoring national security completely.
@Adnan Siddiqi: Law and order is the responsibility of the Central Government. If for the sake of argument we agree that it was the responsibility of KPK Government, then we should also hold Punjab Government for the killings of innocent people at Wagah Border.
@Adnan,
You have some valid observation but unfortunately again unfair. Terrorism cant be eradicated wothout proper training and latest equipments but who is responsible ? IK is not power in last 30years and what actions to be taken now he must take. No excuse and I do agree with you and they dont then they must be kicked and bring new one. But can you answer below ?
What Zardari and NS did to equip our police in last 30 years rather to made them their personal and family servant ? Our police have filled bags of sand as safety at check points, is it practice in acountry ?
I strongly believe no police in pak can eradicate this terroris untill proper traing and equiped with technology. These are not street crimes, these terrrorist are funded and injected with external interference and thats why must handled at top from federal agenices and support.
@AsR: He has condemned them many times. Only his enemies and ignorant ppl cant see that.
@pak47: Take a close look at the picture, look again and again. Look at the mothers, look at their love and affection for Imran Khan. IK is a clean guy and is struggling for a better Pakistan, that's why he earns respect just everywhere. Has anyone else visiting Peshawar earned that mush love and affection from victim's families?
@Adnan Siddiqi: You too get a life.
@pak47: Get a life!!
@Javed:
A statesman is the one who takes responsibility, magnanimously. IK should immediately ask his CM and the entire cabinet of KPK to step down for this failure. The problem is that it is IK who is entirely responsible for this fiasco. Had he not drowned in his hatred for Nawaz Sharif, the KPK executive/political branch would have been well and truly working for the welfare of the province instead of being held hostage to the whims and madness of PTI's chairman.
So our well informed people have just got info that IK visits peshawar after 7 days? All ill_informed people are informed again that he is again here at peshawar after his earlier visits.
@ Adnan He was there on the same day as the incident. Some one else was intoxicated then and seems to have recovered from the hangover about an hour ago.
Why are you Coming Late Sir .....
Imran is the only leader to not only visit the victims on the day of the carnage but to make a follow-on visit a week later again. We expect no less from this true leader.
I hope Imran Khan has finally given up on his mutalba for "talks" with these barbarians !!
The worst thing are political leaders do is to rush to the hospitals after a tragedy. This obstructs the urgent medical care that those patients need .... There should be a rule that no leader should be allowed in the hospital or at the scene if crime with in 48 hours.... The worst thing is that in our society it us considered a very humane gesture.
Adnan and pak47: For your information, IK was in peshawar and visited injured in hospital on 16th Dec 2014, Attended APC in Peshawar on 17th Dec 2014.
Sorry of some poor mentalities...this is his second visit to school
At last Taliban Khan realized after loss of so many innocent lives, very sad.........
Time for IK to openly condemn TTP.
It was one the worse attack in recent history of humanity and IK responded as true statesman followed by suspension of Dharna which was on peak with political motives. He set asided all difference in public and prioritize country current need. He needs to do more than that. All should support NS in current situation despite of the differences with his political blunders so that we can get out from this worse terrorism
Finally the intoxicated Kaptaan has been detoxed and decided to visit the metropolis of the province his party governs - After a lapse of one week.
All these political leaders should have been shown the sad sad gruesome pictures in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy.......the place is probably spic and span now
He is 6 days late.