PESHAWAR: Noted urologist Dr Asif Malik was reported to be in stable condition at a hospital after coming under fire close to his residence in the University Town area here on Tuesday night, hospital and police officials said on Wednesday.

After the attack, Dr Malik, a pioneer of kidney transplantation in the province, was shifted to the Peshawar General Hospital by his driver and remained under treatment in the intensive care unit. His condition is said to be stable.

Senior police officials claimed that the “case has almost 80 per cent been concluded.”

An official told Dawn requesting anonymity that investigators obtained all relevant CCTV footage.

“The attackers chased Dr Asif Malik in a car. They also changed the car’s registration number,” he said.

The official said it appeared that someone who was “close to Dr Malik or closely knew him” was involved.

Sources close to Dr Malik said that the urologist, who performed surgeries until late night at the hospital, would always travel alone.

“Even after being injured in the attack, Dr Malik drove his car to home from where his driver immediately took him to the hospital,” a relative disclosed.

In a statement, the City Police said that an investigation team had seized three empty bullet shells of a 30 bore pistol from the attack site.

They said that a case had been registered on behalf of the urologist.

In a Facebook message, the Peshawar General Hospital said Dr Malik was stable.

“The matter is being handled by authorities, and we are fully cooperating with them,” it said.

The hospital requested people to respect the privacy of the injured urologist and his family and avoid spreading unverified information about his condition.

“Any official updates will be shared through our authorised channels only,” it said.

In a message, the Young Doctors Association said all vital organs of Dr Malik were “safe”.

Like YDA, the Provincial Doctors Association and senior doctors across the province, including those from the medical teaching institutions, condemned the gun attack and demanded early arrest and strict punishment of the culprits.

Dr Asif served as the director of the Institute of Kidney Diseases in Peshawar and was the first head of the Medical Transplantation Regulatory Authority. He played a vital role in the launch of legal organ transplantation in the province and helped private hospitals in Peshawar establish renal transplant units.

The urologist was a close relative of former provincial police chief Malik Naveed as well as senior police official Malik Saad, who was martyred in a Peshawar suicide attack in 2007.

Former Kohat nazim and Malik Saad’s brother, Malik Asad, was killed in April last year when his vehicle was attacked on the Rawalpindi Highway.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2026