A nine-year-old Australian girl has been fatally shot by police in Pakistan after officers mistook her family’s car for that of suspected criminals.
Local media are reporting the girl and her family were confronted by armed robbers outside the home of a relative in Chakwal, in the Punjab province.
The relative told the media 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.
He exchanged fire with the two suspects before they fled on a motorcycle.
As the family began to drive away in their rental car, more police attending the scene opened fire, believing the car belonged to the suspects, according to a police official.
The girl and her family were rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Her father and brother were later transferred to Benazir Bhutto Hospital in Rawalpindi, where they underwent surgery.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the department was “providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian who was killed and to two Australians injured in Pakistan”.
“We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time,” the spokesperson said.
A police inquiry is underway, with local officials reportedly promising to hold accountable anyone found responsible for the incident.
