Muhammad Aslam Khan

The man, dressed as always in his starched white shalwar kameez with open front buttons and a flashy watch was the only one officer who had the undisputed reputation of being brave and courageous to combat crime in Sindh police force was Chaudhry Aslam Khan.

Originally hailing from Hazara, Muhammad Aslam Khan commonly known as Chaudhry Aslam started his career as a sub-inspector (ASI) in 1984. He was serving as the Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) of the Central Investigation Department (CID), when he was martyred on 9th January 2014 while travelling to his office in Karachi. The vehicle of Chaudhry Aslam was targeted by a bomb blast at Liyari Express way in Issa Nagri area of Karachi. Blast was so powerful that it destroyed two police vehicles completely while nearby buildings were also damaged. Blast also damaged Flyover Bridge which shows the intensity of the blast.

He has served as a station house officer (SHO) at a number of police stations in the metropolis. In 2010, Khan was appointed as a head of the Investigation Wing of the CID. Earlier, he was heading the Lyari Task Force (LTF) to uproot gangsters from Lyari.

Chaudhry Aslam was on hit list of terrorists as a day before he killed three dangerous Taliban militants in encounter in Karachi. He has killed and arrested many key terrorists commanders in the past. Taliban had targeted him on many occasions.

Last year his vehicle was also targeted at the same place where he was killed in Thursday’s blast. On 19 September 2011, eight people were killed and several were injured in a suicide attack on the residence of Chaudhry Aslam. Eyewitnesses said that after the explosion, when a black cloud engulfed the entire neighbourhood, it was Aslam himself who got out first from his bungalow to pick up the dead and injured.

At the time of the attack, Aslam, his wife and children were at home. Even though the front of the house was blown away, luckily, all of his family members escaped serious injuries.

Chaudhry Aslam had only one message for the terrorists who destroyed his home. I will bury the attackers in the same place here, he said as he pointed to the 8 by 6 foot crater. I will not step back. I will carry on with my jihad [against the terrorists] until the day of judgement.

The suicide bombing of his residence was the third attack on Khan during his service. A couple of years ago, he was targeted near Punjab Chowarngi in Clifton. Four people, including an ASI, were gunned down by unidentified culprits in this attack.

During his tenure as the head of the LTF, he was targeted again. Khan was leading a police party searching for notorious gangster Rehman Dakait when armed men opened fire on the police. At least two constables died on the spot, while Khan remained unharmed.

Khan conducted raids against banned outfits, including Lashkar-e-Jhangvl (LJ) and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Lyari’s warlord Rehman Dakait and other criminals operating in the city.

In 2010 the terrorists blew up the head office of CID in Karachi with the aim to eliminate Aslam and other senior officials. Aslam and other senior officials were not in the building at the time. The government had enhanced the security of Aslam who had been working against the Taliban terrorists.

As the role of the CID chief is very important in taking action against the Taliban, there were threats that terrorists could hit him any time. Chaudhry Aslam had vowed to carry on his mission of eliminating the Taliban from Karachi.

Chaudhry was a decorated officer and his achievements included a Pakistan Police Medal, Qauid-e-Azam Police Medal and the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz awarded by the president of Pakistan. One had to admire the merit of people like Chaudhry Aslam. If he had not done some big things, the terrorists wouldn’t be after him.