Aslam Khan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 April 1963 |
| Died | 9 January 2014(2014-01-09) (aged 50) Essa Nagri,Karachi, Pakistan |
| Resting place | Gizri graveyard |
| Alma mater | Karachi University |
| Police career | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Allegiance |  Sindh Police |
| Service years | 1984–2014 |
| Status | Assassinated |
| Rank | Superintendent of Police (SP) |
| Awards | Pakistan Police Medal Quaid-e-Azam Police Medal Tamgha-e-Imtiaz |
Aslam Khan (29 November 1963 – 9 January 2014), better known asChaudhry Aslam, was a Pakistanipolice officer in theSindh Police. He was known for his involvement in severalencounter killings (extrajudicial killings) of criminals and militants. On 9 January 2014, he was killed in asuicidecar bombing carried out by theTehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.
Aslam was born in 1963 toadvocate Akram Khan in the Arghushalvillage council ofDhodialunion council inMansehra District. He belonged to the Arghushal clan, a sub-clan of theSwati tribe. He moved toKarachi with his father after completing his primary education.[1][2]
Aslam joined theSindh Police force on 31 October 1984 as anAssistant Sub-Inspector inKarachi and served in severalpolice stations across Karachi and inBalochistan due to provincial allocation. Chaudhry Aslam rose through the ranks, first becoming anInspector and then aStation House Officer (SHO) ofGulbahar police station in 1987. On 25 February 1999, he was appointed theDeputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) ofNazimabad. In the 2000s, he was variously posted atSpecial BranchLarkana, SRPSukkur and Anti-Car Lifting Cell Karachi. He promoted as aSuperintendent of Police (SP) in 2005.
In 2010, Aslam was appointed as SP, in-charge of the Anti-Extremism Crime Wing/Investigation Wing ofCriminal Investigation Department.[3]
From 2005 to 2013, Aslam arrested and killedgang war criminals,target killers,extortionists and militants belonging to theMuttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM),Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP),Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA),Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) andSipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP).[4][5]
Aslam worked as anencounter specialist (a euphemism forextrajudicial killings) from 1992 to 1994 and 1996 to 1997. He was suspended then came back to service in 2004 and received the task of eradicatingtarget killers. Later he was ordered to lead the Lyari Task Force (LTF) and end the gang war inLyari Town.[4]
During the 2000s, most of the officers associated with the earlier 1990sOperation Clean-up in Karachi were killed and his career was severely damaged due to controversies during this time.[6]
In 2006, as the head of the Lyari Task Force, he was arrested for the murder of gangster Mushtaq Brohi. After being in jail for sixteen months, theSindh High Court released Aslam and his associates on bail in December 2007. In 2009, allegations of murder surfaced once again, s SP Investigation, Chaudhry Aslam and his associates killed gangsterRehman Dakait in what has been alleged to be a fake police encounter.[6]
Aslam won himself a reputation for his performance in the 2012'Lyari grand operation' which once again aimed at clearing the area of criminals.[6]
In 2012, he escaped unhurt from aTaliban attack on his house in theDefence Phase VIII area of Karachi.[5] The attack, in which a suicide bomber detonated a truck bomb at his front gate, resulted in the death of eight people. TTP claimed responsibility for the attack as retaliation for ongoing efforts against them, including the arrest and killing of many of its members. At that time Aslam, whose home was half blown away by the blast, defiantly said he knew he was the target but it would not deter him from fighting against extremists and that he would bury them in the same ground.[4][6]
On 9 January 2014 Aslam died, along with two other officers, his guard and driver, when anexplosives laden car smashed into Aslam's convoy on theLyari Expressway in theEssa Nagri area of Karachi. Aslam had previously survived nine such attempts.[7] TheMohmand Agency chapter of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.[8] Sajjad Mohmand, a spokesman for the militant group, said Aslam was targeted for carrying out operations against the TTP."Aslam was involved in killing Taliban prisoners in DIC cells in Karachi and was on the top of our hit-list," he said.[9] Investigators in Karachi who were probing the death of Aslam revealed that his own driver who was also one of his bodyguards was involved in the murder. The investigation team stated that the bodyguard-driver informed the terrorists of Aslam's motorcades movement.[10]
Pakistan has accusedKulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian national arrested in 2017 inBalochistan on allegations of spying and terrorism, of being involved in Aslam's assassination. In 2017, a video was released by theInter-Services Public Relations (the media wing of thePakistan Armed Forces) where Jadhav can be seen confessing that the assassination of Aslam was sponsored by the Indian intelligence agencyResearch & Analysis Wing on the directions of its chiefAnil Dhasmana. The validity of the video has been criticised by the Indian side, claiming it to be doctored and forced upon Jadhav following torture to serve the interests of the Pakistani government.[11]
Prime MinisterMuhammad Nawaz Sharif praised Chaudhry Aslam and the other officers killed as martyrs and said that such attacks will not deter the law enforcement agencies in their fight against terrorism.[12]
TheInter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a statement made byArmy ChiefGeneralRaheel Sharif, acknowledging the contributions of police and other Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) in the fight against terror, and paying tribute to Aslam for laying down his life in the line of duty.[13]
ThenMuttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chiefAltaf Hussain also condemned the killing of Aslam and his two colleagues. "SSP Chaudhry Aslam was active in fighting against terrorists who are carrying out subversive activities in Pakistan. He conducted operations against terrorists and criminal elements bravely", Altaf Hussain said.[12]
In 2019 it was announced that an action movie based on his life would be released,Chaudhry – The Martyr, directed by Azeem Sajjad. The movie was finally released in 2022. Chaudhry's role was played by his cousin Chaudhry Tariq Islam, who hails from the same village, is aDeputy superintendent of police (DSP) himself, and worked with Khan for over thirty years; the director acknowledged he had cast him because he's "well versed with [Khan's] body language, gestures, attitude and reflexes."[14]
His character was played bySanjay Dutt in the 2025 Indian filmDhurandhar.[15]