A tragic firing incident involving Punjab Police’s Crime Control Department (CCD) in Chakwal has sparked fresh concerns over the unit’s operational methods after a 9-year-old girl was killed and several members of her family were injured. The incident has reignited debate over allegations of excessive force and controversial police encounters linked to the department.
According to officials, Adeel Ahmed, his wife Dr. Sidra Khan, and their two children, 9-year-old Hania and 10-year-old Aafan, were travelling through northern Punjab when CCD personnel allegedly opened fire on their vehicle after mistaking it for a car carrying fleeing robbery suspects. The sudden burst of gunfire struck the family’s sedan multiple times.
The firing proved fatal for young Hania, who died at the scene. Her father and younger brother sustained critical injuries and were shifted to a hospital for treatment, while her mother survived the incident without physical injuries but was reportedly left in severe shock. Images and videos shared on social media showed the family’s vehicle riddled with bullet holes.
Authorities have since registered a case that includes murder charges, and a CCD official allegedly involved in the firing has been taken into custody. The incident has raised serious questions about the procedures followed during the operation and whether officers properly verified the identity of the vehicle before opening fire. Officials said the two suspects who had initially escaped the area were later tracked down.
Police stated that the operation was part of an armed encounter involving suspects identified as Mohammad Abbas, a resident of Shahdara, and Mohammad Feyaz of Ferozwala. According to officials, the pair were linked to multiple robbery cases reported on Wednesday night and were also suspected of targeting the family of an Australian national. They were later killed during the encounter with CCD personnel.
The incident has also renewed scrutiny of the CCD’s broader record. A recent fact-finding report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) called for an independent high-level judicial inquiry into deaths occurring during CCD operations, alleging a pattern of staged encounters and possible extrajudicial killings. The report claimed that around 924 suspects were killed in at least 670 CCD-led operations across Punjab during an eight-month period in 2025. While the CCD has been praised by the provincial leadership for tackling organised crime, human rights groups and civil society activists continue to call for greater transparency and accountability in its operations.
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