PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has again reiterated his stance that negotiations with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) should be initiated.

“If America can negotiate with the Afghan Taliban, Pakistan and Afghanistan should also negotiate with them (Taliban),” said Imran while speaking to the media after meeting members of Army Public School (APS) Shuhada Forum.

Imran announced the observance of a minute of silence on December 16 to honour the victims of APS Peshawar. He also announced the formation of a committee to negotiate on behalf of APS Shuhada Forum with the federal government.

Read: TTP does not want to enforce Shariah at gunpoint, says Imran

The committee would take up demands of the forum and will request the government to make December 16 a national holiday in honour of APS victims. It would also request the federal government to bestow Nishan-e-Haider on those who were killed in the attack.

Imran also highlighted the dangers faced by Muslim countries from groups such as the Daesh or the self-styled Islamic State (IS).

Imran Khan had said early last year that Taliban did not want to enforce Shariah in the country at gunpoint but wanted to liberate it from a US led war.

Imran Khan was one of the few politicians in the past who encouraged starting negotiations with the TTP, when other political leaders were strongly opposed to the idea.

Opinion

Editorial

UAE’s Opec exit
Updated 30 Apr, 2026

UAE’s Opec exit

THE UAE’s exit from Opec is another sign of the major geopolitical shifts that are reshaping the global order. One...
Uncertain recovery
30 Apr, 2026

Uncertain recovery

PAKISTAN’S growth projections for the current fiscal present a cautiously hopeful picture, though geopolitical...
Police ‘encounters’
30 Apr, 2026

Police ‘encounters’

THE killing of nine suspects by Punjab’s Crime Control Department across Lahore, Sahiwal and Toba Tek Singh ...
Growth to stability
Updated 29 Apr, 2026

Growth to stability

THE State Bank’s decision to raise its key policy rate by 100 basis points to 11.5pc signals a shift in priorities...
Constitutional order
29 Apr, 2026

Constitutional order

FOLLOWING the passage of the 26th and 27th Amendments, in 2024 and 2025 respectively, jurists and members of the...
Protecting childhood
29 Apr, 2026

Protecting childhood

AN important victory for child protection was secured on Monday with the Punjab Assembly’s passage of the Child...