WASHINGTON, Sept 19: The body of a former employee of the Pakistan Embassy, who was murdered near Washington earlier this week, will be flown home on Wednesday, the embassy said.

Musharraf Shah, an administrative assistant at the embassy, was fatally shot on Thursday night in Old Town Alexandria after he delivered a pizza. Alexandria police said the incident was a botched robbery.

Mr Shah, 47, had moved his wife and eight children from Lahore to Alexandria nearly three years ago to seek a good education for his children. His eldest son, Saeed Shah, 19, told reporters his father wanted his children to have "the best education and that's why he came here".

"He was the strongest of any man in the whole wide world," said the grieving son as he stood outside the family's Alexandria apartment. Mr Shah retired from his job as an administrative assistant last year and when the embassy was going to send the family back to Pakistan, he obtained a work visa and applied for early retirement.

To support the children, ages 5 to 19, and his wife, he took an assortment of part-time jobs - working at a 7-Eleven, delivering newspapers. He joined Pizza Hut as a full-time delivery driver in April.

"He was very cheerful and hard working," said Farrukh Amil, a consular at the embassy. Patty Sullivan, a spokeswoman for his employers, also described him as a "good employee who was well-liked".

She said Pizza Hut employees never carry more than $20 when they go for delivery. Mr Shah, who was shot in the chest after delivering the pizza to a bakery, died at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Virginia on Thursday night.

Witnesses told police they had seen a black Subaru at the shooting scene and later the car was spotted in a nearby area. The driver and a passenger abandoned the vehicle when they saw the police car but were arrested after a wild chase that involved police cars and a helicopter.