www.rsis.edu.sg 25 – 31 August 2014

www.rsis.edu.sg 17 August 2015

Spot Report of International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research www.rsis.edu.sg

Punjab Home Minister Killed in

On 17 August, Retired Colonel , the Punjab Home Minister, was killed in a suicide attack carried out by a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, Movement of the Pakistani Taliban) affiliated group, at his residence in city of the Punjab province. This attack is a reprisal for the killing of , leader of the banned anti-Shia outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and his two sons on 26 July.1

Details:

Two suicide bombers attacked Shuja Khanzada’s residence in the Shadi Khan village, during a gathering of more than 35 people. The roof of the residence caved in due to the intensity of the blasts, killing Khanzada and 18 others, while the others present were severely injured.2

Lashkar-i-Islam (LI), a group affiliated with the TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack. However, it was stated that the attack was a direct reprisal of the recent killing of LeJ’s leader, Malik Ishaq, along with revenge for the military operations being waged in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). 3 The attacks

1 Syed Irfan Raza. “Punjab loses minister in terrorist attack,” Dawn, August 17, 2015, accessed August 17, 2015, http://www.dawn.com/news/1200973/punjab-loses-minister-in-terrorist-attack. 2 Syed Irfan Raza. “Punjab loses minister in terrorist attack,” Dawn, August 17, 2015, accessed August 17, 2015, http://www.dawn.com/news/1200973/punjab-loses-minister-in-terrorist-attack.

3 Abdul Manan. “Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada killed in Attock suicide blast,” Express Tribune, August 17, 2015, accessed August 17, 2015, http://tribune.com.pk/story/939003/blast-rocks- Nanyang Technological University Block S4, Level B4, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 Tel: +65 6790 6982 | Fax: +65 6794 0617 | www.rsis.edu.sg represents a severe security lapse in the Punjab province, that has generally experienced decreased violence in the past few years.

This attack is the first high-profile loss for the ruling party, Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) due to its fight against terrorism within the country. After retiring from military service, Khanzada was elected as a member of the National Assembly in 2002 and served as a Special Advisor to the Chief Minister. Afterwards, he was elected in the Provincial Assembly and was presently serving as the Home Minister of the Punjab Province. He was a leading member of the fight against terrorism in the province, and was one of the frontrunners monitoring the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP), which was a counter-terrorism policy plan launched in December 2014.4

Shuja Khanzada

punjab-home-minister-shuja-khanzadas-political-office-in-attock/; Abdul Manan. “Bombing believed to be a reprisal attack,” Express Tribune, August 17, 2015, accessed August 17, 2015, http://tribune.com.pk/story/939342/bombing-believed-to-be-a-reprisal-attack/. 4 “Colonel (retd) Shuja Khanzada: Military man and politician,” Dawn, August 17, 2015, accessed August 17, 2015, http://www.dawn.com/news/1200811/colonel-retd-shuja-khanzada-military-man- and-politician.

Nanyang Technological University Block S4, Level B4, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 Tel: +65 6790 6982 | Fax: +65 6794 0617 | www.rsis.edu.sg