Khan, a newspaper reporter and head of the local journalists association, was shot several times as he entered the press club building in Hangu, near the border with Afghanistan, according to news reports and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists. Shahid Sabir, news editor for the Urdu-language daily Ausaf, said two or more assailants had apparently been lying in wait.
Khan was a reporter for Ausaf, as well as Mashriq, an Urdu-language daily published in Peshawar, provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Khan was also president of the Hangu Union of Journalists.
The English-language daily Dawn reported that Khan had received threats from militant organizations. Khan had been a journalist for more than 20 years, reporting for several newspapers during his career, according to the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists. He was survived by a wife, six sons, and five daughters.