Shuja Khanzada
Shuja Khanzada | |
|---|---|
| شجاع خانزاده | |
Khanzada as Captain of PAVO Cavalry, 1969 | |
| Home Minister of Punjab | |
| In office 14 October 2014 – 16 August 2015 | |
| Appointed by | Shehbaz Sharif |
| Environment Protection Minister of Punjab | |
| In office 10 June 2013 – 16 August 2015 | |
| Appointed by | Shehbaz Sharif |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 August 1943 |
| Died | 16 August 2015 (aged 71) |
| Manner of death | Assassination |
| Party | PML (N) (2008-2015) |
| Other political affiliations | PML (Q) (2002–2008) PTI (1996–2002) |
| Alma mater | Islamia College, Peshawar |
| Awards | Hilal-e-Shujaat Tamgha-e-Basalat |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Pakistan Army |
| Years of service | 1967–1994 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | 13th Lancers |
| Battles/wars | Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Siachen conflict |
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.