Three people, including a seven-year-old girl, were killed in celebratory aerial firing during Independence Day celebrations in Pakistan on Thursday, police said.
The girl was struck by a stray bullet in Azizabad, a neighbourhood in central Karachi’s Gulberg town, while a 35-year-old was killed in Korangi in the city’s eastern part, the daily Dawn quoted police as saying.
A 70-year-old man was struck and killed by a stray bullet outside his home in Kalri, local police officer Syed Asad Raza said.
“A seven-year-old girl was watching Independence Day fireworks from the second-floor gallery of her house in Azizabad Block 8 when a bullet struck her in the head,” local police officer Waqar Kaiser was quoted as saying by the news outlet. “A while later, her mother saw her bleeding out and her uncle took her to a nearby private hospital where doctors pronounced her dead. The body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where the bullet from her head was retrieved.”
Rescue workers told Geo TV that celebratory gunfire across Karachi also left over 100 people injured.
Authorities condemned these incidents and reportedly launched an investigation. They urged the public to celebrate Independence Day through safer, non-violent means.
Three people, including a senior citizen and an 8 year old girl, were killed during Independence Day celebrations in Pakistan's Karachi due to aerial firing, while over 60 others sustained gunshot injuries. pic.twitter.com/D9EbNPXmEa
— EP's Insights (@EPxInsights) August 14, 2025
Police reported cases of aerial firing in multiple Karachi neighbourhoods, including Liaquatabad, Lyari, Mehmoodabad, Akhtar Colony, Keamari, Jackson, Baldia, Orangi Town, and Paposh Nagar.
Similar incidents were also recorded in Sharifabad, North Nazimabad, Surjani Town, Zaman Town, and Landhi, police said, according to Geo TV.
In #Pakistan’s #Karachi, #IndependenceDay celebrations turned tragic as “reckless” aerial firing claimed 3 lives, including a senior citizen and an 8-year-old girl, and left over 60 injured.
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) August 14, 2025
The wounded were admitted to local hospitals as well as private clinics.
Police said they detained nearly 33 suspects during raids in Mominabad, Liaquatabad, Paposh Nagar, Samanabad, Orangi Town, and Keamari, and seized modern firearms and ammunition from them.
They also registered cases against those involved.
Independence Day celebrations in Karachi are marred by fatalities and injuries from aerial firing almost every year.
In 2024, at least 95 people were wounded in such incidents compared with 80 the previous year.
India and Pakistan won independence from British rule at midnight on 14 and 15 August 1947 respectively. British viceroy Lord Mountbatten, reportedly for logistical reasons, conducted the handover of power in Karachi on 14 August and then flew to India for another ceremony the next day. Some reports suggest that because 14 August 1947 coincided with the 27th of Ramadan – considered a holy day in Islam – Pakistan decided to celebrate Independence Day on the 14th.
Pakistan, like India, formally celebrates Independence Day each year with a programme of military parades and cultural shows.
