Khanzada was apparently murdered in retaliation for the killing of two jihad leaders last month. “And We ordained for them therein a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds is legal retribution. But whoever gives charity, it is an expiation for him….” (Qur’an 5:45) But those who don’t choose that expiation can take revenge without believing themselves to be transgressing. And so the cycle of revenge and retaliation continues endlessly.
“Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada killed in Attock suicide blast,” Express Tribune, August 16, 2015:
Punjab Home Minister Col (retd) Shuja Khanzada was killed along with 16 others in a suicide blast at his political office in Shadi Khan near Attock on Sunday.
“Home Minister Shuja Khanzada was killed in the suicide blast,” confirmed Adviser to Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif Dr Saeed Elahi.
Khanzada, 71, had been holding a meeting with local people. He was trapped with several others under the rubble after the blast brought down the roof of the house.
“There were two suicide bombers, one stood outside the boundary wall and the second one went inside and stood in front of the minister,” IG Punjab Mushtaq Sukhera told reporters.
“The blast by the bomber standing outside ripped the wall which caused the roof to fall flat on the minister and people gathered there,” he said.
Sukhera added police were investigating whether the attacker inside the building detonated a bomb.
Rescuers move the body of a victim from the site of a blast at Shadi Khan village. PHOTO: AFP
Read: Khanzada attack in retaliation of LeJ chief’s killing: sources
The death toll rose to 14, including the minister and two police officials, with 23 others injured, the IG Punjab said.
Four of the injured were shifted to DHQ Hospital Rawalpindi but three of them later succumbed to their wounds raising the death toll to 17. Khanzada’s driver of home minister, Ghareeb Nawaz, was also among the dead.
Twenty-two people had been taken to hospital, he said, adding the body of the suicide bomber was also found.
Khanzada’s body was recovered from under the rubble and was transferred to Rawalpindi via helicopter for postmortem.
“There were between 20 and 30 people present when the blast took place,” district information officer Shahzad Niaz told Reuters. “The roof collapsed.”…