KARACHI: The brutal killing of Dr Akash Kumar during a robbery in Clifton a day earlier was widely condemned on Tuesday, with doctors holding demonstrations at several hospitals, demanding immediate arrest of the killers.

The day saw a large protest at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) where the late 28-year-old doctor served as a house officer. The doctors gathered outside the hospital’s OPD Complex and chanted slogans.

“We are shocked at our colleague’s murder that occurred at one of the city’s most secure places and the killers also managed to escape from there. It’s ironic,” said Dr Farrukh Rauf of YDA-Sindh, adding that the late doctor worked with him as well as at the hospital’s emergency department.

“We can only request the government to provide security to doctors,” he said, while raising questions over the ability of the government and the law enforcement agencies to provide protection to citizens.

PMA demands ‘comprehensive security strategy to protect citizens’; Lanjar assures family of transparent probe

A similar protest was held at the National Institute of Child Health — the largest government-run children’s hospital in the province. Holding placards inscribed with slogans such as “stop violence against doctors” and “save the saviours”, a significant number of house officers gathered in the hospital in the morning hours and staged a demonstration.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) in a statement strongly condemned Dr Kumar’s murder, while demanding the IGP Sindh to ensure the immediate arrest of the culprits.

“This tragic incident highlights the total collapse of the law and order situation in the metropolis, where citizens, including highly educated professionals, are no longer safe even in high-security zones,” said Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro representing the association.

The loss of a young doctor was not just a tragedy for his grieving family, but a devastating loss for the entire medical fraternity and the country, he added.

On behalf of the association, he demanded that the Sindh government, the Inspector General of Sindh Police, and higher authorities take immediate and stern action to arrest the culprits involved in this heinous crime.

“We also demand a comprehensive security strategy to protect citizens and professionals, as the current state of lawlessness is forcing our brightest minds to flee the country out of fear for their lives,” he said.

Ministers, Karachi mayor meet victim’s family

Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar, along with Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Javed Alam Odho, on Tuesday met with the family of Dr Akash Kumar, who was shot dead during a robbery in Clifton a day earlier.

Provincial ministers Mukesh Kumar Chawla and Gianchand Israni were also present on this occasion.

Dr Kumar had been serving at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. He was gunned down during a crossfire between robbers and a bank security guard in the busy Clifton area on Monday. The robbers took away Rs2.5 million from his possession.

During the meeting with the deceased doctor’s parents, the home minister and IGP Odho expressed sorrow over the killing and assured the family that all suspects involved in the tragic incident would be brought to justice. They said the case was being investigated thoroughly on merit.

Minister Chawla, Mayor Murtaza Wahab and Mr Israni also offered their condolences.

Meanwhile, South DIG Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that they had received the police’s forensic report, which confirmed that the bullet which struck the deceased doctor was fired from the pistol of the bank guard, who also admitted that he fired in “self-defence.”

The DIG also said the police may not press charges against the held guard. He said investigations have got significant clues about the identity of the robbers.

However, Sanjay Kumar, the man who accompanied the victim Dr Kumar and his father Sri Chand, submitted a written statement before the police for registration of a murder case.

In the statement, he stated that Dr Kumar, who was sitting on the backseat of the car, was shot by one of the robbers.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2026