A senior doctor, who had recently retired as the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) medical and health services director, was killed after armed assailants opened fire on his vehicle as he was leaving his private clinic in the city’s Garden area on Thursday evening, officials said.

Garden police said that 62-year-old Dr Beerbal was gunned down while his assistant, 35-year-old Dr Qurutulain, was injured by armed assailants on a motorcycle near the Lyari Expressway junction.

The dead and the injured were subsequently shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said that Dr Beerbal sustained two bullet injuries to the head. She said that he was already dead when he was brought to the hospital at 6:46pm.

She said that Dr Qurutulain was shot in the shoulder but her condition was out of danger. The police surgeon said that the injured was also a member of staff at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD).

South Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Irfan Ali Baloch told Dawn.com that the incident appeared to be a targeted killing but officials had yet to determine the exact motive.

He said that Dr Beerbal had left his private clinic near Anklesaria and was dropping his assistant home when the armed assailants opened fire. CCTV footage aired on television showed the car swerving to the side after coming under attack, before hitting a wall.

City Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Arif Aziz told the media that dropping his assistant home was part of Dr Beerbal’s daily routine. The official reiterated that it appeared to be a targeted killing but the exact motive would be ascertained after conducting a thorough investigation.

He said that the injured was being questioned regarding the incident. The official asserted that it was too early to comment on the motive at this time.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Secretary General Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro demanded an impartial inquiry into the incident.

Condemning the incident, he said that Dr Beerbal had served as the medical superintendent of Spencer Eye Hospital in Lyari, and the director of the KMC’s health services.