How Perth girl got caught in crossfire of 'deliberate policy of lethal force'

Hania Ahmed's grandfather Mazhar Hussain Chohan has spoken in Pakistan as his family seeks "justice". (ABC News: Sanaullah Afridi) The grandfather of Australian girl Hania Ahmed has recounted the hours that followed her fatal shooting by police in Pakistan, after the family were robbed at gunpoint. A senior Pakistani lawyer has described the police department behind the killing as "uncontrolled" and having a "deliberate policy of lethal force rather than lawful policing". Hania's family is calling for justice as Pakistani police pursue murder charges against the officer involved. Link copiedShareShare articleWhat started as a peaceful night unravelled into a family's worst nightmare with a midnight phone call from a hospital. The grandfather of nine-year-old Australian girl Hania Ahmed has recounted the hours that followed her fatal shooting by police in Pakistan, after the family were robbed at gunpoint. Hania and her family had travelled from Perth to visit family. The schoolgirl and her 11-year-old brother were staying with her grandparents for a few weeks while her parents travelled to Saudi Arabia for Hajj, an Islamic pilgrimage. "She was a very good girl … I loved her more than my own sons," grandfather Mazhar Hussain Chohan told the ABC. Hania Ahmed with her father Adeel Ahmed. (Supplied) Mr Chohan said Hania was a "brilliant student" who loved playing soccer. The family had gathered for dinner at another relative's house in the city of Chakwal after Hania's parents returned from their trip. Mr Chohan said he left by 9.30pm while Hania, her brother and parents stayed. Just three hours later, Mr Chohan said he received a phone call telling him his son, Hania's father, had been in an "accident". "I had no idea about the bullets," Mr Chohan said. Mazhar Hussain Chohan says Hania enjoyed playing soccer and was a "brilliant" student. (ABC News: Sanaullah Afridi ) The scene at the hospital, when he arrived, sent him into shock. "I saw the dead body of my granddaughter on a stretcher, and my son and grandson were injured, police and doctors were working," he said. The local hospital where Hania Ahmed and her family were taken after the police shootout. (ABC News: Sanaullah Afridi) The tragic incident had started as a robbery and spiralled into a shootout, during which police mistook the victims for the suspects. After Mr Chohan had left, two robbers approached Hania and her family outside their relative's home, holding them at gunpoint and demanding their jewellery. What happened next, according to Pakistan's Crime Control Department (CCD), is disputed by Hania's father Adeel Ahmed. The CCD claimed the robbers started shooting at an officer who responded at the scene, while Mr Ahmed alleged police were the first to open fire and escalate the situation. As the family attempted to drive away from the chaos, an officer continued firing at their car, believing the robbers were inside. Hania was fatally shot. Her father and 11-year-old brother were injured. The street in Chakwal, Pakistan, where police fired at Hania Ahmed's family as they attempted to drive away. (ABC News: Sanaullah Afridi ) Medical notes from a post-mortem examination, seen by the ABC, indicate Hania was hit by at least five bullets and died immediately. A senior doctor at the hospital told Pakistani media outlet Dawn the bullets "appeared to have been fired from AK-47 rifles". The CCD was formed in 2025 to crack down on crime in Pakistan's Punjab province, where about half of the country's almost 260 million people live. Even before Hania's death, groups including the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) have raised concerns about the department's use of force. Hania Ahmed and her father Adeel. (Supplied) The CCD was responsible for 924 deaths in its first eight months of operation, according to the HRCP. The Human Rights Research Centre (HRRC) has described the rise in extrajudicial killings as an "institutionalised pattern of staged 'encounters' by the Crime Control Department". Pakistan Supreme Court advocate Muhammad Azhar Siddique said Hania was caught in the crossfire of the CCD's "deliberate policy of lethal force rather than lawful policing". "This is an uncontrolled department — a vague, unguarded discretion has been granted to them to kill anybody, to take away life," he told the ABC. The CCD has maintained one of its key principles is the minimum use of force, and said police were pursuing murder charges against the officer involved, with the department alleging he breached several protocols. "He misused force. That use of excessive force led to the tragic demise of a little girl, and injuries to her brother and father," CCD chief Sohail Zafar Chattha said. He conceded a lack of training had contributed to the officer's poor judgement. Pakistani officials apologise for the fatal shooting of a nine-year-old Australian girl, and outline the violation of protocols that led to her death as t

How Perth girl got caught in crossfire of 'deliberate policy of lethal force'

Key takeaways

More in international