PESHAWAR: Amir Khan, a British boxing champion of Pakistani origin, paid a visit to terror-hit Army Public School in Peshawar on Monday and said that his heart went out to the families and parents whose children had died in a brutal Taliban attack on Dec 16.

“The main reason I came to Pakistan was to visit Peshawar and see the parents of the victims,” Khan said.

"Children must be scared to go back to school and the onus is on us to instil confidence in them, and also help to improve the country's security situation,” the star boxer said.

Khan expressed hope that the joint efforts of the armed forces and the citizens of Pakistan would help in ending terrorism.

“[For now], all we can do is [to] pray [for the victims' families] and hope [terrorist attacks] do not occur again,” he said.

Before visiting the Army Public School, Khan also met with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Raheel Sharif at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. During the meeting, Gen Raheel praised Khan's services for the people of Pakistan.

According to a tweet by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesman Maj Asim Bajwa, Khan also expressed solidarity with the families of the Peshawar school attack victims as well as the country's armed forces.