Zeeshan Kazmi

Zeeshan Kazmi
Born	April 14, 1965
Died	October 14, 2003 (aged 38) Karachi, Pakistan
Cause of death	Assassination
Resting place	Wadi-e-Hussain
Occupation	Police Officer
Known for	Counter-Terrorism

Shaheed Zeeshan Kazmi (April 14, 1965 to October 14, 2003) was a famous Pakistani senior police officer who gained popularity during the Operation Clean Up in Karachi against the MQM and the encounter of Murtaza Bhutto.^[1] He served in almost every area of Karachi and interior Sindh. He also worked for the Federal Investigation Agency (F.I.A.) and Intelligence Bureau (I.B.). He played influential role in solving many high-profile cases, one of them including the murder case of American journalist, Daniel Pearl.

Kazmi headed team of police officers comprising Chaudhry Aslam Khan, Rao Anwar, Sarwar Commando, Taufiq Zahid, Ghazanfar Kazmi, Irfan Bahadur, Bahauddin Babar, Aslam Hayat and many other famous officers out of which most of them were assassinated in the recent years due to their active participation in operations against terrorism.

He arrested several most wanted terrorists. His role as the head of Karachi Operation has widely been appreciated in the local and international forums. He also escaped several assassination attacks in Karachi.

Kazmi was considered to be a very close aide of the President Asif Zardari and he was the right hand of late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

He worked closely with ex police chief, Shoaib Suddle. He survived multiple assassination attempts. He received 2 bullets when he was attacked in Malir area of Karachi in 1996. He is famous for the arrest of the MQM Haqiqi faction's leadership after getting the Gulf Air plane to return and land after it took off carrying Amir Khan and Afaq Ahmed.

He was awarded Tamgha-e-Shujaat by the former President Pervez Musharaf. He has also received the Quaid-e-Azam Police Medal and Pakistan Police Medal in addition to several other national and international awards for his services to the nation. Hollywood movie, A Mighty Heart (film) which was based on the kidnapping and murder of American-Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl, also showed the influential role of Zeeshan Kazmi in solving the case which was portrayed by Indian actor Irrfan Khan.

Kazmi was kidnapped and shot dead on 14 October 2003.^[2] His body was identified at the Edhi morgue after which the funerals were offered at Ancholi Society's Imambargah, Shuhadah-e-Karbala. He was buried at the graveyard, Wadi-e-Hussain Cemetery located on the Super Highway. He left behind a son and a widow.

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