On Tuesday, Australia’s PM Anthony Albanese has sought an investigation from the authorities in Pakistan on the shooting of nine-year-old Australian girl Hania Ahmed.
The girl and her family were Australian nationals based in Perth and were on holiday in Pakistan at the time of the incident.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Ahmed and her family were taken hostage at gunpoint by armed robbers. A relative told local media that 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 then allegedly exchanged fire with the two suspects before they fled on a motorcycle. As the family began to drive away in their car, more police attending to the scene believed that the car belonged to the suspects and continued to open fire, according to a police official.
Hania and her family were then rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her father and brother were severely wounded, and her mother escaped unhurt.
The incident took place when the family was travelling in a rental car in Chakwal, a city in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
Suspects Killed, Investigation Underway
Chakwal District Police said the two suspects had been killed during a “police encounter”. In a statement, the police added that timely action resulted in both primary dacoits being killed.
The police said one police official had also been arrested after a preliminary investigation.
Australian PM Albanese told journalists, according to Al Jazeera, that his government “expects there to be transparency and a proper investigation of these circumstances”.
“My understanding is that not only has a young girl lost her life but there have been other members of the family injured as well in circumstances which are dire indeed,” he said.
(with inputs from agencies)
