Renowned Peshawar doctor seriously injured in gun attack

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.

Sources said that soon after the attack, Asif was shifted to Peshawar General Hospital (PGH) and is under treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU).

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.

---

This is a developing story that is being updated as the situation evolves. Initial reports in the media can sometimes be inaccurate. We will strive to ensure timeliness and accuracy by relying on credible sources, such as concerned, qualified authorities and our staff reporters.

---

Additional input by Ashfaq Yusufzai