A significant development has emerged in the case of the killing of Australian-Pakistani minor Hania Ahmed in Chakwal during CCD firing, as an audio message from her injured father, Adeel Ahmed, has surfaced.

Expressing dissatisfaction with the ongoing police investigation, he claimed that four CCD personnel riding two motorcycles chased and fired indiscriminately at his vehicle, while the robbers had not initially opened fire.

Speaking from Benazir Bhutto Hospital in Rawalpindi, Adeel Ahmed said he is a resident of Perth, Australia, and had returned to Pakistan with his family on June 10 after performing Hajj.

He said they had gone to visit relatives when two robbers approached them outside a house and began a robbery. According to him, the family was handing over valuables when firing suddenly erupted. He alleged that CCD personnel opened fire on their vehicle first, after which the robbers fired only two shots before fleeing.

Adeel Ahmed said his 11-year-old son, Afnan, suffered two bullet wounds while he himself was hit twice, including one bullet lodged in his arm. His nine-year-old daughter Hania Ahmed sustained three to four bullet wounds and died before reaching hospital.

He claimed the firing was so intense that even the vehicle’s brakes became inoperative, but despite his injuries he managed to drive his family to hospital.

He alleged that the tragedy could have been avoided had CCD personnel allowed the robbers to leave and pursued them later.

“CCD targeted our vehicle instead of the robbers. Had I not driven away, they would have killed all of us,” he said.

Adeel Ahmed stated that he was not seeking financial assistance but wanted a transparent and impartial investigation to prevent similar incidents in the future. He added that officials from the Australian High Commission had met him and would visit again.

He further claimed that neither the Pakistan nor Punjab government had contacted the family and said he would ask the Australian government to seek justice on their behalf. He also alleged that Chakwal police were attempting to protect CCD personnel.

Meanwhile, Additional IG CCD Punjab, Sohail Zafar Chatha, told media at the victim’s grandfather’s residence that the CCD does not believe in extrajudicial killings and acts only against individuals involved in serious crimes.

He said such suspects are often armed and have a history of firing on police, but stressed that the life of any citizen is more valuable than the arrest of two robbers.

He stated that three to four robberies had occurred in Chakwal within a few hours on the day of the incident, placing CCD on high alert. However, he acknowledged that a better strategy would have been to pursue and arrest the suspects later. According to him, the robbers involved had come from Sheikhupura and were later killed in a CCD operation.

Describing the incident as deeply tragic, he said the entire department stands with the affected family and that the success of the investigation would ultimately be measured by the confidence of both the family and society in the CCD. He added that the institution now has an opportunity to correct its shortcomings following Hania Ahmed’s death and that training procedures would be reviewed and stricter SOPs introduced to help prevent similar incidents in the future.