Shuja Khanzada

Shuja Khanzada (28 August 1943 – 16 August 2015) was a Pakistani politician and retired army colonel, who was serving as the Home Minister of Punjab from 2014 until his assassination on 16 August 2015.

As an army officer, Khanzada fought in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war, before partaking in the Siachen conflict in 1983. Retiring from the military, Khanzada entered politics in 1996. He was elected to the Punjab Provincial Assembly thrice, in 2002, 2008, and 2013; the latter as a PML (N) candidate from his native constituency in Attock. Appointed Home Minister in 2014, Khanzada spearheaded the campaign against terrorism and sectarian militancy in Punjab.

On 16 August 2015, Khanzada was assassinated in a suicide attack at his political office in Shadi Khan, Attock. The militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) claimed responsibility for the attack, in retaliation for the killing of LeJ chief Malik Ishaq during Khanzada's tenure. A number of his family members had been killed in a suicide attack on a funeral near Mardan, two years earlier.

Early life Born to a Pashtun family of the Yusufzai tribe, Khanzada's grandfather Captain Ajab Khan was a member of the Indian Legislative Assembly (in British India) and his uncle Taj Muhammad Khanzada was a member of the National Assembly and Punjab Provincial Assembly from the 1950s to the late 1990s. In 1967, he was commissioned into the Pakistan Army. Another family member, Major Javed Alam Khanzada was a senior bureaucrat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and committed suicide in 2004.

Political career Following his retirement from the military, Khanzada entered politics in 1996. For some time, he was affiliated with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf as a founding member, before joining the Pakistan Muslim League (Q). He was elected as a member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from 2002 to 2007 as a PML (Q) legislator. He served as a special advisor to the Chief Minister and held a ministry portfolio. He was elected to the provincial assembly again in 2008 as an independent candidate, and in the 2013 elections as a PML (N) member, from his native Constituency PP-16.

Home Minister Khanzada was assigned the additional charge of the Home Ministry by the Pakistan Muslim League (N) provincial government on 14 October 2014, in a cabinet reshuffle.

Death and legacy

On 16 August 2015, Khanzada's home office in Shadi Khan was attacked in a suicide blast, killing him and at least 18 other people, including a number of his relatives. According to a preliminary investigation, the attack may have been retaliation for the killing of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militant leader Malik Ishaq by the Punjab Police during Khanzada's term in office. The attack was strongly condemned throughout the country, including by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif. The Lahore City District Government announced that a major new road inaugurated in Lahore, connecting Karim Block and Jinnah Hospital across the Lahore Canal, would be named after Shuja Khanzada.

Awards and decorations

Hilal-e-Shujaat (Crescent of Bravery)

POSTHUMOUSTamgha-e-Basalat (Medal of Good Conduct)

1988Sitara-e-Harb 1971 War (War Star 1971)Tamgha-e-Jang 1971 War (War Medal 1971)10 Years Service Medal20 Years Service MedalTamgha-e-Qayam-e-Jamhuria (Republic Commemoration Medal)

1956Hijri Tamgha (Hijri Medal)

1979Tamgha-e-Jamhuriat (Democracy Medal)

1988Qarardad-e-Pakistan Tamgha (Resolution Day

Golden Jubilee Medal)

1990