Shuja Khanzada

Shuja Khanzada (&lrm;; 28 August 1943 – 16 August 2015) was a Pakistani politician and Pakistan Army colonel who served as the home minister of Punjab since 2013. On August 16, 2015, Khanzada was killed by a suicide attack at his political office in Shadikhan; the militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has claimed responsibility.

Personal life
Khanzada was born in an agriculturist Pathan family belonging to the Yousafzai clan in Shadikhan, Attock. The Khanzada family of Attock were long involved in politics. His grandfather Captain Ajab Khan was a member of the Indian Legislative Assembly and his uncle Taj Muhammad Khanzada was a member of the National Assembly from the 1950s to the late 1990s. He matriculated at the Public School Nowshera, followed by FSc. and graduation from the Islamia College in Peshawar with a bachelors degree in arts in 1966. In 1967, he was commissioned into the Pakistan Army. Khanzada was married and had three children.

Military career
During his military career, Khanzada fought in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war, served as an instructor from 1974 to 1978 and 1982 to 1983, and commanded the 13th Lancers from 1983 to 1985. He was also present at the Siachen Glacier in 1983. In 1988, he was awarded the Tamgha-e-Basalat for his services. From 1992 to 1994, he was posted as a military attaché at the Pakistani embassy in Washington, D.C. 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 and Afghanistan.

Political career
Following his retirement from the military, Khanzada entered politics. 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.

Death
On 16 August 2015, Khanzada's home office in Shadikhan was attacked in a suicide blast, killing him and at least 18 other people. 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. The attack was strongly condemned throughout the country, including by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Shareef.