Taliban bomb kills Pakistan's iron cop

Chaudary Aslam was at the top of the Taliban's hit-list. Photo / AP

He was the cop who could not be got - Pakistan's toughest policeman, taking on the bad guys in the country's toughest city.

But Chaudhry Aslam Khan's enemies eventually did get him. Yesterday, as his convoy was travelling through Karachi, a bomber targeted his vehicle. He was killed along with at least two other officers.

The Taliban claimed responsibility, saying they had finally killed a man they had targeted many times.

Pakistan's Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, said Aslam's death was a huge loss to the police force. "Chaudhry Aslam was a brave officer. We will not let the will of the nation be crushed by these cowardly acts by terrorists."

Aslam counted everyone from mobsters to militants among his enemies and had been the target of up to 10 assassination attempts. Yet he was a controversial figure - he had been accused, repeatedly, of taking the law into his own hands and overseeing extra-judicial killings.

In September 2011, when a Taliban suicide bomber drove a truck through the front gate of his house in Karachi's Defence neighbourhood and set off a blast that killed eight people, the policeman emerged unhurt, stepping through the damage to denounce the attackers.

"They call themselves Muslims but they are unbelievers. This will make me even more determined to carry on operations against them," he said. "I will give my life but I won't bow to terrorists."

A 30-year police veteran, Aslam had since 2010 been serving as head of the city's anti-terror unit. Often working through the night and typically armed with a Glock pistol, he had received countless awards for his work.

In March last year he was awarded the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz award by Pakistan's President. He also claimed to have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in reward money.

Yesterday there was some uncertainty as to how Aslam's car was targeted.

The AFP news agency reported Aslam's vehicle had been targeted as it was travelling close to the city's Lyari Expressway. Iqbal Mehmood, a senior officer, said the bomber smashed his vehicle into Aslam's convoy.

Reports said the policeman had been returning from an operation targeting militants when the attack happened. Earlier in the day Aslam reported that he had killed three men in a shoot-out.

Yet police spokesman Atique Ahmed Shaikh told the Independent that an initial assessment had concluded Aslam's convoy had been targeted by an IED bomb.

"Aslam was involved in killing Taliban prisoners in CID cells in Karachi and was on the top of our hit-list," said Taliban spokesman Sajjad Mohmand. "This was a warning to the people who were on Aslam's team. If they don't distance themselves from his agenda, their fate will be even worse than his."

- Independent