Unidentified gunmen attacked a car travelling on the Lyari Expressway in Karachi on Thursday evening killing one doctor and wounding his female colleague, also a doctor, rescue officials said.

The deceased has been identified as Dr Birbal and his injured colleague as Dr Quratulain.

“Dr Birbal was going his home in Gulshan-e-Iqbal from his clinic at Ranchore Line,” SSP City Arif Aziz told reporters after visiting the site of the attack. The police have been collecting evidence from the site.

A small weapon was used in the killing, he said, adding that the police have found three shells of a 9mm pistol from the scene. Assailants sprayed bullets on Dr Birbal’s head, the police said.

The body has been transferred to the Edhi morgue in Sohrab Goth.

The body and the wounded doctor have been moved to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, police said.

The victim was described as a senior doctor and ophthalmologist who had served in various hospitals including Jinnah hospital. He had also served as the director of health at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation. Dr Birbal retired from his service more than a year ago, sources said.

The car was targeted when it was approaching the toll plaza at the Lyari Expressway near Pak Colony, said the initial reports. Assailants fled after firing.

CCTV footage showed that car speedily moving towards a section of the road apparently after the attack. Later, the door of the car opens and then stops near the outer wall of a building.

The killing happened near the Good Luck Hall in the Garden area of the city, the police said. It added that assailants sprayed bullets in a different jurisdiction of the police station while the vehicle stopped at another area, prompting a dispute between police stations of Soldier Bazaar and Garden over the jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, Dr Shahid Rasool of Jinnah hospital has directed that all medical facilities be provided to the wounded woman.

Injured Doctor Quratulain was shot in the stomach. In her statement to the police said that she was working with Dr Birbal for the past 10 years.

“Suddenly sparks passed in front of my eyes when we were travelling towards Pak Colony. When I saw Dr Birbal, his head was bleeding,” she said.

The victim is survived by a daughter, also a doctor, and two sons, who will return home from abroad. The body would be handed over to the heirs of the family after the post-mortem examination.

On Friday morning, police officials said that the deceased’s family will register a case and take the body to interior Sindh after conferring with one another.

Police said that the assailants had allegedly started following Dr Birbal’s vehicle from Nishtar Road, they followed him all the way to followed Good Luck Hall in the Garden area, where the assailants opened fire.

According to police officials, the assailants were on a motorcycle and came toward the driver’s side of Dr Bibal’s car, the number of suspects is not yet clear.

Police said that all evidence has been collected from the crime scene and the process of geo-fencing is underway.

The bullet shells recovered from the scene have been sent for a forensic scan, police said, adding that they are trying to obtain more CCTV footage of the shooting.

Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori expressed his grief over the murder and sought a report from the additional inspector general of police.