A nine-year-old Australian girl was shot dead while on holiday in Pakistan after police allegedly opened fire on the vehicle carrying her family, mistaking them for armed robbery suspects.
Hania Ahmed was visiting her relatives in Chakwal when the armed robbers stopped the family’s vehicle, held them at gunpoint, and demanded jewellery and other valuable items.
Following the incident, the robbers fled the scene, and the family got into their car and drove away.
The police responding to the incident allegedly pursued a vehicle they believed was connected to the suspects. During the operation, the officers allegedly opened fire on the car carrying Hania and her family, mistaking it for the robbers’ vehicle.
Hania, her father and her brother were injured in the shooting, with the 9-year-old later succumbing to fatal wounds.
Australian PM demands inquiry
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called on the Pakistani authorities to carry out a transparent inquiry into the incident and examine the circumstances.
“These circumstances do need to be examined. They need to be examined in a transparent way, so that everyone can know, the family, most importantly, but others as well. Australia expects there to be transparency and a proper investigation of these circumstances,” Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
“My heart goes out to the family and friends, and indeed the Pakistani Australian community will be really feeling this today. A nine-year-old girl visiting Pakistan with her family should have been a time of joy,” he said, offering condolences to the family.
Officer who opened fire suspended from duty
Punjab Police said that the conduct of the officer arrested was a “grave deviation” from the established standard protocols of the Crime Control Department.
“The conduct of the officer involved has represented a grave deviation from our established Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and the legal standards governing the use of force,” Sohail Zafar Chatha, Punjab CCD Additional IG, told Pakistani English-language news outlet Dawn.
The Crime Control Department (CCD) released a statement saying that the officer involved in the indiscriminate fire was arrested on murder charges, and a formal probe was launched against other personnel.
“The relevant officer was suspended from duty and taken into custody on the same day. Subsequently, he was formally arrested and presented in court, from where he was remanded to judicial custody in jail,” CCD said in a post on X.
Police said that the suspects who attempted to rob the family were arrested.
‘Cold-blooded killing of innocent people’
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former federal minister Moonis Elahi criticised Punjab’s Crime Control Department, stating that innocent citizens were increasingly becoming victims of police actions.
“This cold-blooded killing of innocent people continues in Punjab. Since the CCD was given a free hand by Maryam Nawaz, more innocent citizens than criminals appear to be falling victim to its actions and this is a very alarming trend,” Moonis said in a post on X.
“Who will compensate this family for such an irreparable loss? Are CCD personnel so unprofessional, inexperienced, and reckless that they cannot distinguish between an innocent family and armed robbers? Or is the intelligence and informant system established by the CCD so ineffective that the real criminals manage to escape while a vehicle carrying an innocent family is sprayed with bullets?” Elahi questioned.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz formed the CCD in 2025, aiming to reduce the crime rate in the province by adopting a “ruthless strategy”.
According to news agency PTI, the CCD killed more than 1,100 people (criminals) in encounters.
The incident occurred while nine-year-old Hania and her family were visiting relatives in Chakwal during a holiday. (Photo/AI-generated) 
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