Shuja Khanzada: Difference between revisions

{{Use Pakistani English|date=August 2015}}

|honorific-prefix   =

|name               = Shuja Khanzada

|native_name       = {{Nastaliq|شجاع خانزاده}}

|native_name_lang   =

|honorific-suffix   =

|image             =Shuja Khanzada.jpg

|imagesize         =

|smallimage         = <!--If this is specified, "image" should not be.-->

|alt               =

|caption           =Khanzada as [[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]] of [[13th Lancers|PAVO Cavalry]], 1969

|order             =

|office             = [[Government of Punjab, Pakistan|Home Minister of Punjab]]

|term_start         = 14 October 2014

|term_end           = 16 August 2015

|appointer = [[Shehbaz Sharif]]

|predecessor       =  

|successor         =

|office1            = [[Government of Punjab, Pakistan|Environment Protection Minister of Punjab]]

|term_start1        = 10 June 2013

|term_end1          = 16 August 2015

|appointer1 = [[Shehbaz Sharif]]

|predecessor1        =  

|successor1          =

|party              = [[Pakistan Muslim League (N)|PML (N)]] {{small|(since 2013)}}

|otherparty         = [[Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf|PTI]] {{small|(1996–2002)}}<br/>[[Pakistan Muslim League (Q)|PML (Q)]] {{small|(2002–2007)}}

|birth_date         = {{birth date|df=y|1943|8|28}}

|birth_place       = [[Shadikhan]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab Province]], [[British India]]  

|death_place       = [[Shadikhan]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]]

|death_date   = {{death date and age|df=y|2015|8|16|1943|8|28}}

|nationality       = [[British India]]n (1943–1947)<br />[[Pakistani]] (1947–2015)

|alma_mater         = [[Islamia College University|Islamia College]]

<!--Military service-->

|nickname           =

|allegiance         ={{PAK}}

|branch             ={{army|PAK}}

|serviceyears       =1967–1994

|rank               =[[File:OF-5 Pakistan Army.svg|32px]] [[Colonel]]

|unit               = [[13th Lancers]]

|commands           =  

|battles           = [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]<br />[[Siachen conflict]]

|awards              =[[Hilal-e-Shujaat]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.samaa.tv/news/2016/03/president-to-confer-pakistan-civil-awards/|title=President to confer Pakistan Civil Awards &#124; SAMAA|website=Samaa TV}}</ref><br />[[File:Medal of Good Conduct Tamgha-e-Basalat.png|30px]] [[Tamgha-e-Basalat]]

|military_blank1   =

|military_data1     =

|military_blank2   =

|military_data2     =

|military_blank3   =

|military_data3     =

|military_blank4   =

| children = [[Jahangir Khanzada]] (son)

|military_data4     =

|military_blank5   =

|military_data5     =

|death_cause = [[Assassination]]}}

'''Shuja Khanzada''' ({{lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|شجاع خانزاده}}}}&lrm;; 28 August 1943 – 16 August 2015) was a Pakistani politician and [[Pakistan Army]] colonel, who served as the [[Government of Punjab, Pakistan|Home Minister]] of [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] from 2014 until his assassination on 16 August 2015.<ref name="PA">{{cite news|url=http://www.pap.gov.pk/index.php/members/profile/en/19/450|title=Shuja Khanzada|work=Punjab Assembly|accessdate=16 August 2015}}</ref>

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 [[Provincial Assembly of Punjab|Punjab Provincial Assembly]] thrice, in 2002, 2008, and 2013; the latter as a [[Pakistan Muslim League (N)|PML (N)]] candidate from his [[Constituency PP-16 (Attock-II)|native constituency in Attock]].<ref name="PA"/><ref name="Dunya News">{{cite news|url=http://dunyanews.tv/index.php/en/Pakistan/293709-Shuja-Khanzada-Shaheed--Once-a-soldier-always-a-|title=Shuja Khanzada Shaheed – Once a soldier, always a soldier|work=Dunya News|date=17 August 2015|accessdate=18 August 2015}}</ref> Appointed Home Minister in 2014, Khanzada spearheaded the campaign against [[Terrorism in Pakistan|terrorism]] and [[Sectarianism in Pakistan|sectarian militancy]] in Punjab.

On 16 August 2015, Khanzada was assassinated in a [[2015 Attock bombing|suicide attack at his political office]] in [[Shadikhan]], 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.<ref name="ET"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33952413|title=Punjab minister Shuja Khanzada killed in Pakistan blast|date=16 August 2015|publisher=[[BBC News]]|accessdate=17 August 2015}}</ref> A number of his family members had been killed in a suicide attack on a funeral near [[Mardan]], two years earlier.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://beta.dawn.com/news/1019509/ministers-cousins-among-victims-of-funeral-attack|title=Minister’s cousins among victims of funeral attack|first=From the|last=Newspaper|date=20 June 2013|website=DAWN.COM}}</ref>

Khanzada was born in an agriculturist [[Pathans of Punjab|Pathan]] family belonging to the [[Yousafzai]] clan in [[Shadikhan]], [[Attock District|Attock]].<ref name="PA"/> The Khanzada family of Attock were long involved in politics.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/773602/politics-runs-in-the-family-2|title=Politics runs in the family|work=Dawn|date=24 December 2012|accessdate=16 August 2015}}</ref> His 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 of Pakistan|National Assembly]] and [[Provincial Assembly of the Punjab|Punjab Provincial Assembly]] from the 1950s to the late 1990s.<ref name="PA"/> He matriculated at the Public School [[Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|Nowshera]], followed by FSc. and graduation from the [[Islamia College University|Islamia College]] in Peshawar with a bachelor's degree in arts in 1966.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pap.gov.pk/index.php/members/profile/en/9/96|title=Shuja Khanzada|work=Provincial Assembly of the Punjab|accessdate=16 August 2015}}</ref> In 1967, he was commissioned into the Pakistan Army.<ref name="PA"/> Khanzada was married and had three children. His son, [[Jahangir Khanzada]], succeeded him as a member of the provincial assembly in by-elections on 6 October 2015 from the family's native constituency of PP-16, following Shuja's assassination.<ref name="PA"/> Three of his cousins died in the [[2013 Mardan funeral bombing|Mardan funeral bombing]] in 2013.<ref name="Dawn">{{cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/376476/peshawar-former-secretary-commits-suicide|title=PESHAWAR: Former secretary commits suicide|work=Dawn|date=9 December 2004|accessdate=23 August 2015}}</ref> Another family member, Major Javed Alam Khanzada was a senior bureaucrat in [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]].<ref name="Dawn"/>

During his military career, Khanzada fought in the [[1971 Indo-Pakistani war]], served as an instructor in 1974–1978 and 1982–1983, and commanded the [[13th Lancers]] in 1983–85.<ref name="PA"/> He was also present at the [[Siachen Glacier]] in 1983.<ref name="PA"/> In 1988, he was awarded the [[Tamgha-e-Basalat]] for his services.<ref name="PA"/> In 1992–1994, he was posted as a military attaché at the [[Embassy of Pakistan, Washington, D.C.|Pakistani embassy in Washington, D.C]].<ref name="PA"/> He was also a field officer of the [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] (ISI), working for the intelligence agency for over a decade from the 1980s to the mid 1990s, during which he specialised on affairs related to [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]] and [[Afghanistan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://antisystemic.org/satribune/www.satribune.com/archives/july27_02_02/isi_whistle_blower.htm|title=How Gen. Kakar blew up plans to roll back the nuclear program|date=1999|accessdate=17 August 2015|work=South Asia Tribune}}</ref>

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)]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/939003/blast-rocks-punjab-home-minister-shuja-khanzadas-political-office-in-attock/|title=Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada killed in Attock suicide blast|work=The Express Tribune|date=16 August 2015|accessdate=17 August 2015}}</ref> 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 of Punjab, Pakistan|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 [[Pakistan Muslim League (N)|PML (N)]] member, from his native [[Constituency PP-16 (Attock-II)|Constituency PP-16]].<ref name="PA"/><ref name="Dunya News"/> Khanzada was appointed Punjab Environment Protection Minister on 10 June 2013.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/590738/anti-dengue-drive-two-shops-sealed-cases-registered-against-owners/ |title=Anti-dengue drive: Two shops sealed, cases registered against owners |date=16 August 2013 |website=[[The Express Tribune]] |accessdate=23 August 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://punjab.gov.pk/?q=node/1194 |title=Chief Minister assigns portfolios to the Ministers |website=Punjab Portal |date=10 June 2013 |publisher=[[Government of Punjab, Pakistan]] |url-status=dead |access-date=27 November 2017 |archive-date=22 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822235754/http://punjab.gov.pk/?q=node%2F1194 }}</ref>

On 16 August 2015, Khanzada's home office in [[Shadikhan]] was attacked in a suicide blast, killing him and at least 21 other people, including a number of his relatives.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ali|first1=Sarfraz|title=Death toll rises to 19 in suicide attack at Punjab Interior Minister Shuja Khanzada’s political office in Attock|url=http://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/two-injured-as-bomber-hits-punjab-interior-minister-shuja-khanzadas-house-in-attock-987/|accessdate=17 August 2015|work=[[Daily Pakistan]]|date=16 August 2015| quote=At least nineteen people have been killed ... UPDATE: Deputy Superintendent of Police Hazro, Sayyed Shouqat Ali Shah also martyred in this incident ... UPDATE: Col (retd) Shuja Khanzada has been killed in the attack.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/18-Aug-2015/late-khanzada-s-cousin-succumbs-to-wounds|title=Late Khanzada's cousin succumbs to wounds|work=Daily Times|date=18 August 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=23 August 2015|archive-date=19 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150819120250/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/18-Aug-2015/late-khanzada-s-cousin-succumbs-to-wounds}}</ref> 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 (Pakistan)|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]].<ref name="ET">{{cite news|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/939039/khanzada-attack-in-retaliation-of-lej-chiefs-killing-sources/|title=Khanzada attack in retaliation of LeJ chief's killing: sources|work=Express Tribune|date=16 August 2015|accessdate=16 August 2015}}</ref> The Lahore City District Government announced that a major new road inaugurated in [[Lahore]], connecting [[Karim Block]] and [[Jinnah Hospital, Lahore|Jinnah Hospital]], would be named after Shuja Khanzada.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/941128/lahore-road-to-be-named-after-shuja-khanzada/|title=Lahore road to be named after Shuja Khanzada|work=The Express Tribune|date=19 August 2015|accessdate=20 August 2015}}</ref>

[[Category:Pakistan Army Armored Corps officers]]