Fatal shooting of minor Australian girl in Pakistan draws international scrutiny

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Lahore : The death of a nine-year-old Australian girl during a police operation in Pakistan’s Chakwal district has drawn significant international attention. Major Australian media outlets are extensively covering the incident. This was reported by Dawn.

According to the report, senior officials of Punjab’s Crime Control Department (CCD) have acknowledged that the actions of the officer involved represented a serious violation of established procedures. These procedures govern the use of force.

The report said that the tragic incident occurred on June 10 when a family of Australian nationals was caught in crossfire after police mistakenly targeted their vehicle during an operation against armed robbers. Moreover, Australian broadcasters reported that the Perth-based family was visiting Pakistan at the time. The incident took place while they were present in the country.

According to Dawn, Adil Ahmad had arrived in Pakistan from Makkah along with his wife, Sidra Khan, their 10-year-old son Aqan Ahmad, and their daughter, Hania. On the night of June 10, the family was reportedly travelling to attend a function at a relative’s residence in Chakwal. Meanwhile, the family was intercepted near the CCD office.

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According to the report, Ahmad told investigators that two armed men stopped the family’s vehicle at gunpoint and robbed them of valuables. Moments later, heavy gunfire erupted as police confronted the suspects.

The robbers reportedly used the family’s vehicle as cover and exchanged fire with responding officers. In an attempt to escape the dangerous situation, Ahmad drove away from the scene. However, multiple bullets struck the vehicle, injuring him as well as his two children. While his wife escaped unharmed, young Hania sustained critical injuries and later died.

Dawn highlighted that Punjab CCD Additional Inspector General Sohail Zafar Chatha admitted that the officer involved had wrongly assumed the suspects were fleeing in the family’s car and opened fire. Furthermore, he described the incident as a “grave deviation” from the department’s Standard Operating Procedures and legal guidelines on the use of force.

(ANI)

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