The Media Line: Australian Girl Killed After Pakistani Police Mistake Family Car for Robbers’ Vehicle 

Australian Girl Killed After Pakistani Police Mistake Family Car for Robbers’ Vehicle 

By Arshad Mehmood/The Media Line 

[ISLAMABAD] A 9-year-old Australian girl was killed and two family members were wounded in Chakwal, Pakistan, after Crime Control Department personnel allegedly opened fire on their vehicle in a case officials described as mistaken identity during the response to an armed robbery. 

Hania Ahmed, a Pakistani Australian child from Perth, was traveling with her family in Punjab province when police allegedly mistook their rented car for a vehicle used by robbery suspects. Chakwal is located about 62 miles southwest of Islamabad. 

According to information received by The Media Line, Hania’s family had arrived in Pakistan only days earlier after performing Hajj. Her father, Adeel Ahmed, 39, is originally from Dhudial, a town in Chakwal district, and moved to Australia about two decades ago. He studied there, earned a degree in civil engineering, and settled in Australia with his wife, Dr. Sidra Khan, and their children, Affan Ahmed and Hania Ahmed. 

Hania was traveling with her father and brother to visit her maternal grandfather when the shooting occurred. Her grandfather is reportedly a retired colonel in the Pakistan Army. 

Initial accounts indicate that the family had just been robbed at gunpoint by two armed men who took jewelry from them. As the family tried to leave in the rented vehicle, Crime Control Department personnel allegedly confused their car with that of the fleeing suspects and opened fire. 

Hania was fatally wounded. Her father and younger brother were seriously injured and underwent surgery. Khan was not in the vehicle at the time and was unharmed. 

Police have arrested the official accused of opening fire and registered a murder case against him. Authorities have also formed a Joint Investigation Team to examine the circumstances of the shooting. Police later said the two men allegedly involved in the robbery were killed during an encounter. 

The killing has caused public anger in Pakistan and Australia, where the family lived. Senior police officials in Pakistan have described the incident as a tragic case of mistaken identity and said the family would receive justice through a transparent investigation. 

The case has also drawn attention to Pakistan’s police practices, including the use of force during criminal pursuits and the accountability mechanisms applied after civilian deaths. Rights groups in Pakistan have long raised concerns about police shootings, custodial abuse, and encounter killings, while authorities have repeatedly said reforms are needed to improve training and public trust. 

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was assisting the family. 

“We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time,” a department spokesperson said. 

The department said it was providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian national who was killed and to two Australians injured in the incident.