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The family had been driving to a relative's house when they were set upon by robbers who demanded they hand over jewellery before opening fire on police officers

A 9-year-old girl was fatally shot by police after officers opened fire on a car mistaking the family inside for jewel robbers.

Hania Ahmed was travelling through Chakwal, in the Punjab region, alongside her mum Dr Sindra Khan, dad Adeel Ahmed, and brother Aafan to see relatives on Wednesday. The family, from Perth, Australia, were reportedly confronted by two robber when they arrived at the home of Ali Ejaz, the uncle of Dr Khan.

The alleged robbers demanded the family hand over their jewellery and they gave them an estimated £3,937 worth of items. After securing the items, the robbers were understood to have exchanged fire with a police officer with the two suspects fleeing the scene on a motorcycle.

Police then opened fire on the vehicle with the family inside after mistakenly believing it was a getaway car. A police official said: "As the cops saw the vehicle being driven away immediately, they took it as belonging to the robbers and opened indiscriminate fire on the car."

Ahmed did manage to drive to the gates of his family member's home before he lost control and the car crashed, reports MailOnline. The family was rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital where Hania was tragically pronounced dead.

Her dad and brother were later moved to Benazir Bhutto Hospital in Rawalpindi where they were treated. The mother was left uninjured in the incident.

Pakistani Association general secretary Asim Chaudhry confirmed the girl had died when speaking to Australian outlet 9News. He added: "This news is very shocking, especially the death of the nine-year-old."

An investigation has since been launched. A District Police Officer added: "It was a highly shocking incident. A JIT t(Joint Investigation Team) has been constituted which will present its findings soon."

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told the outlet the family is being supported, a spokesperson added. They continued: "The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is 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." It later emerged the two suspects had been killed during a "police encounter," reports ABC News.

Police said one officer had also been arrested after a preliminary investigation.

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