Girl's killing in Chakwal: LHC disposes of petition seeking case's transfer to FIA

RAWALPINDI: The Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Rawalpindi bench on Friday disposed of a petition filed by the family of nine-year-old Hania Ahmed, who was killed in a shootout in Chakwal last week, seeking the transfer of the case from local police to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The petition was filed by a Pakistani-origin Australian family shot at during a robbery in Chakwal last week by Punjab’s Crime Control Department (CCD) after officials mistook it as belonging to the robbers. As a result, Hania died on the spot, and other family members sustained injuries.

On Friday, LHC Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan wrapped up the case after directing provincial authorities to ensure a completely fair, transparent, and unbiased investigation, and to strictly proceed against the accused officials in accordance with the law.

During the proceedings, Punjab Additional Advocate General Imran Shaukat Rao formally informed the bench that a first information report (FIR) had already been registered against the delinquent officials, and departmental as well as legal actions were actively underway.

In their petition, the aggrieved family had expressed a complete lack of confidence in the local police’s ability to conduct an impartial inquiry.

Their counsel argued that because the CCD officials belonged to the police force itself, an internal investigation could suffer from institutional bias. The family had pleaded for the case to be handed over to an independent federal body, the FIA, to guarantee justice.

While disposing of the petition, the court reiterated that the provincial police must prove its institutional integrity by conducting a flawless, transparent probe.

Justice Khan emphasized that no leniency should be extended to the officials behind the tragic death of the innocent child, ensuring the law takes its course swiftly.

Yesterday, the Punjab police and the CCD had admitted that the incident would neither be defended nor covered up under “any circumstances”.

They also described the shooting as a case of “criminal negligence”, saying that a CCD official’s lack of training had contributed to his inability to assess the situation correctly. ...