Pakistan police arrest two for spying on slain minister Shuja Khanzada

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan counter-terrorism officials today claimed to have arrested two men from a banned outfit for spying on the slain Punjab home minister Shuja Khanzada.

A retired colonel, Khanzada, 71, was killed on August 17 when two suicide bombers attacked him while he was meeting people at his political office in Attock district of Punjab.

The suspects were arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), which Khanzada helped to set up to counter militancy in the province.

A police official said that the two men belonged to a banned outfit and were shifted to a secret location for interrogation.

The suspects had been following Khanzada over the past couple of weeks before terrorists targeted him in a suicide attack, he added.

The bombing killed 19 people including Deputy Superintendent of Police Hazro Police Shaukat Ali Shah and Pakistan government had vowed to expedite the crackdown on militants and their facilitators.

The banned outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) has reportedly claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on Khanzada, to avenge the killing of LeJ chief Malik Ishaq.