10 dead as Taliban storm Pakistan airport

Islamabad, December 16: At least 10 people died in Pakistan Saturday night when Taliban militants stormed an airport after ramming their explosives-laden vehicle into its outer wall.

The militants attacked the Bacha Khan Airport in Peshawar around 8.30 p.m.

According to local media reports, five rockets were fired by the militants at the airport and two of them hit the runaway.

Five attackers were among the dead and over 40 others were injured, Xinhua reported.

All international and domestic flights were cancelled following the attack.

The attack was in response to a recent military operation in the area, the army said.

The airport authorities said all their assets were safe.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf condemned the attack.

Earlier:

Four dead as militants attack Peshawar airport

Islamabad, December 16(Reuters): Four people were killed when militants attacked the airport in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Saturday and traded gunfire with soldiers for more than 30 minutes before being repulsed, military and health officials said.

Pakistan's army rushed reinforcements to the scene of the night attack, one of the most audacious raids by militants since an assault on an air base in the east of the country in August.

A health official said at least 26 people had been wounded at the airport, which handles civilian and military traffic, and that at least three of the dead were militants.

Pakistan's air force said a rocket attack had damaged the outer wall of the air field, which lies near a residential area and military barracks in Peshawar.

"No terrorist has been able to penetrate inside (the air field)," Group Captain Tariq Mahmood, a spokesman for the Pakistan Air Force, said in a statement. "Security forces were fully alert and are in control of the situation."

Mahmood added there had been no casualties among the Pakistan Air Force or damage to equipment during the incident.

Three rockets also hit a nearby residential area, a military official said.

"We have repulsed the attack on the airport, everything is now under control," the military official added.

Hospital staff scrambled to treat wounded brought from the scene of the attack, where residents described hearing gunfire and explosions.

"An emergency has been declared in the hospital and all the surgeons have been called," said Umar Ayub, chief executive of the Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar. "All of them suffered bullet injuries and some of the injured are in critical condition."

Peshawar has witnessed many bomb attacks and shootings in recent years, but residents said it was the first time such a large attack had been staged on the airport.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Pakistani militants have staged repeated high-profile attacks on military installations in major cities in recent years in their campaign against the government.

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Pak jail authorities say Imran Khan is alive and healthy after ‘murder’ rumours spark panic

News Network

November 27,2025

Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

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