A nine-year-old Australian-Pakistani girl was killed after police opened fire on a vehicle during a robbery incident in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, authorities and media reports said.

The family, who hold Australian citizenship and had travelled from Perth to visit relatives in Chakwal, were sitting in their car outside a relative’s house on Wednesday night when two armed robbers on a motorcycle approached and robbed them of cash and jewellery, according to a report by Australian broadcaster Sky News.

The family consisted of 39-year-old Adeel Ahmed, his wife Dr Sidra Khan, their 10-year-old son Affan Ahmed and their nine-year-old daughter Hania Ahmed.

A police officer returning from a nearby police station witnessed the robbery and opened fire on the suspects, prompting an exchange of gunfire. The robbers escaped on a motorcycle, the report said.

As the incident unfolded, Adeel Ahmed attempted to drive his family away from the scene. Additional police personnel arriving at the location allegedly mistook the moving vehicle for that of the fleeing robbers and opened fire.

Hania Ahmed was killed at the scene after being struck by a bullet, while her father and brother sustained serious injuries. Dr Sidra Khan was unharmed.

The injured were taken to the hospital and later transferred to Benazir Bhutto Hospital in Rawalpindi. The Punjab Home Department launched an investigation into the incident.

Local court in Chakwal had sent a Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) official arrested in the murder case of a nine-year-old Pakistani-Australian girl to jail on judicial remand, according to court proceedings on Sunday.

Police said that, according to initial investigations, the accused CCD constable opened fire while trying to foil an alleged robbery on the intervening night of June 10 and 11.

Due to a “mistake of identity”, the Pakistani-Australian family, who were being robbed by suspects, became the target of the shooting.

When the accused officer was produced in the local court in Chakwal, the investigating officer informed the court that a government-issued gun had been recovered from the accused and that his statement had been recorded.

The investigating officer told the court that the officer’s attendance at the police station on the day of the incident had also been checked.

The court was informed that the vehicle fired upon with the official gun and bullet casings recovered from the scene had been sent to a forensic laboratory for testing.

The investigating officer said that since the accused’s statement had been recorded and the official weapon seized, the investigation team did not require his physical remand, after which the court ordered judicial remand.

Separately, Chakwal police said that two robbers involved in the robbery of an Australian family of Pakistani origin had been killed in an alleged encounter.