Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called for inquiry into the shooting of a young Australian girl while on holiday with her family in Pakistan.
Hania Ahmed, aged 9, and her family were taken hostage at gunpoint by armed robbers inside their rental car in Chakwal, in Pakistan’s Punjab province, on June 10. Local media reported the girl’s mother was handing over about 500,000 rupees’ ($2,500) worth of jewellery when a police officer returning to the station across the road witnessed the incident.
The police and suspects exchange gunfire, before the suspects fled the scene and the family attempted to leave in their car. Police mistook them for the suspects and opened fire. It resulted in the fatal shooting of nine-year-old Hania. Her father and brother were also wounded.
Footage of the shooting showed a white Toyota hire car scattered with bullet holes.
Albanese said the circumstances around Hania Ahmed’s death should face a transparent and proper investigation.
“My heart goes out to the family and friends, and indeed the Pakistan-Australian community will be really feeling this today,” Albanese told reporters..
“A nine-year-old girl visiting Pakistan with her family should have been a time of joy, and 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.”
The police officer in question has been suspended and taken into custody, Punjab police confirmed.
“The behaviour of the officer involved in the sad incident is a drastic deviation from our set oriented procedure (SOPS) and the legal principles of use of force. Therefore, the following measures have been taken immediately by the department,” the police said in a statement.
“The officer in question was suspended and taken into custody on the same day. He was later formally arrested and presented to court from where he was sent to jail on judicial remand.”
Speaking to SBS, Hania’s father Adeel Ahmed said the police fired first.
The armed robbers fled the scene on a motorcycle and were killed in a separate encounter with police on Thursday night, local time.
The death of Hania Ahmed has shocked Australia and Pakistan alike. She was in year four at Australian Islamic College in Kewdale, in Perth.
School principal Abdullah Khan told ABC Radio Perth it was a tragic loss for the family and community. School counselling is being offered to students and staff.
“Obviously, we can’t get little Hania back…She was a happy, bubbly, friendly girl who used to befriend people quite easily, and she was excited to come to school every day,” he said.
“The mum, in particular, was in a state of extreme shock, and was not even able to speak for a couple of days.”
According to journalist Sherele Moody, Hania is the 13th Australian child killed in 2026.