Karachi airport, which was attacked by terrorists last night, has been reopened.
The airport has been handed over to Airport Security Force (ASF) and the Civil Aviation Authority.
According to a spokesperson of Pakistan International Airport (PIA), Special Assistant to Prime Minister Shujaat Azeem is overseeing the flight operation and has directed to provide all possible facilities to the passengers.
Earlier, Prime Minister Sharif ordered the authorities to reopen the Karachi airport as soon as possible. He directed the Civil Aviation Authority to facilitate the passengers in every possible manner. The final report of the Karachi airport attack has been presented to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
According to the report, the terrorists barged into the old airport from two different sides and attempted to paralyze the civil aviation network. They wanted to destroy all the aircraft parked at the airport.
The Airport Security Force demonstrated bravery and stopped the terrorists from entering Quaid-e-Azam terminal.
The ASF, Army and Rangers sacrificed their lives to safeguard the precious assets of the nation. In the joint operation, security forces killed all the terrorists.
Meanwhile, Director General Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asim Bajwa tweeted that the final clearance of the entire airport had been completed. He added that the airport had been handed over to CAA/ASF.
#Kci Update:Final Clearance of entire Airport completed.Airport handed over to CAA/ASF, likely to open at 1400hrs
— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) June 9, 2014
By wearing ASF uniforms, 10 heavily armed militants divided into two groups entered different entrance gates and launched an assault on the airport, leaving at least 30 dead including 10 militants in a six-hour siege that the army quelled at dawn on Monday.
Explosions and gunfire rang out as the attackers, equipped with suicide vests, grenades and rocket launchers, battled security forces in one of the most brazen attacks in years in Pakistan’s biggest city.
Authorities said all 10 militants were killed and that the bodies of 18 victims, including security personnel and four airport workers, had been identified at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC).
Officials said the gunmen entered from two sides of the airport at around 11:00 pm on Sunday — the terminal used for the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia and an engineering section close to an old terminal that is no longer in use.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) issued the following statement after the attack. “Pakistan used peace talks as a tool of war.” “We have yet to take revenge for the deaths of hundreds of innocent tribal women and children in Pakistani air strikes.”
“It’s just the beginning; we have taken revenge for one (Mehsud), we have to take revenge for hundreds.”
Talks to end the TTP’s bloody seven-year insurgency in Pakistan have been underway since February, with little progress made so far.
Tayyab Baloch is an Islamabad-based multimedia journalist. He tweets at @blochjournalist. Read other articles by Tayyab.
