PESHAWAR: Famous urologist and a pioneer of kidney transplants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dr Asif Malik, was seriously injured after unidentified assailants opened fire at him in the city’s University Town area on Wednesday morning, police said.
Asif was shifted to Peshawar General Hospital (PGH) and was under treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU).
“Dr Asif Malik is stable,” the PGH, where he offers his services, confirmed in a statement on Facebook.
“The matter is being handled by the relevant authorities, and we are fully cooperating with them,” the hospital said.
It requested the public to respect the privacy of Dr Asif and his family, and urged social media users to avoid spreading unverified information or rumours.
“Any official updates will be shared through our authorised channels only,” PGH said.
The urologist also served as director of the Institute of Kidney Diseases in Peshawar and as the first head of the Medical Transplantation Regulatory Authority (MTRA).
He played a vital role in initiating legal organ transplants in the province and helped private hospitals in establishing renal transplant units in Peshawar.
Asif was a close relative of former KP police chief Malik Naveed and senior KP police official Malik Saad, who embraced martyrdom in a suicide attack in Peshawar in 2007.
Malik Asad, former Kohat nazim and brother of Malik Saad, was also killed in April last year when unidentified persons attacked his vehicle on Rawalpindi Highway.
Over a week ago, a dialysis technician, identified as Mohammad Arif Wazir, was shot dead by unidentified assailants near in the Wana tehsil of Lower South Waziristan district.
On March 18, KP Food Safety and Halal Food Authority Director General Kashif Iqbal Durrani was injured when unknown attackers opened fire at him in Peshawar.
In late February, Dr Mehwish Hasnain was shot dead as she was going home after performing duty at a hospital in Kohat, leading to protests by her colleagues.
Additional input by Ashfaq Yusufzai
