A young Australian girl has been shot dead by police in Pakistan after officers mistook her family’s rental car for that of armed robbers.
Nine-year-old Hania Ahmed travelled to Chakwal with her father Adeel Ahmed, mother Dr Sidra Khan and brother Aafan Ahmed to visit relatives when police opened fire on their vehicle, believing they were criminals.
According to local media reports, the family arrived at a relative’s home about 11.40pm on Wednesday when they were confronted by two armed robbers on a motorcycle who demanded jewellery.
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The relative who lives at the property, Ms Khan’s uncle Ali Ejaz, said the family handed over about $7500 worth of jewellery.
It’s understood the robbery was witnessed by a police officer on his break who raced back to his station to retrieve a firearm before returning to the scene.
Authorities claim the officer exchanged gunfire with the robbers before they fled on their motorcycle.
As the chaos unfolded, Mr Ahmed attempted to drive his family to safety. However, local media reports say police believed the fleeing vehicle also belonged to the robbers and opened fire.
“As the cops saw the vehicle being driven away immediately, they took it as belonging to the robbers and opened indiscriminate fire on the car,” a police official said.
Mr Ahmed managed to drive to the gate of another family member’s home before losing control of the car and crashing.
The family was rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital where Hania was pronounced dead.
Mr Ahmed and his son Aafan were transferred to Benazir Bhutto Hospital Rawalpindi where they both underwent surgery.
Mr Ahmed has since been discharged while his son remains in hospital recovering from his injuries. Dr Sidra Khan was not injured.
