Malala Yousufzai condemns killing of Pakistan rights activist Sabeen Mahmud

LONDON: Teenage Pakistani Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousufzai has strongly condemned the killing of social activist Sabeen Mahmud in Karachi and demanded the arrest of her assailants at the earliest.

In a statement, Malala praised Mahmud, saying that she was saddened by "the tragic killing of a Pakistani hero, courageous human rights activist Sabeen Mahmud".

Mahmud, who founded the social forum T2F, was shot dead on Friday night minutes after the end of an interactive discussion on "Unsilencing Balochistan".

According to reports, motorcycle-borne assailants attacked Mahmud and her mother after they had left the T2F in a car.

"I call on authorities to arrest the perpetrators of this crime and to protect Pakistan's human rights and peace activists, especially those facing death threats.

"Rest in peace, Sabeen," said 17-year-old, who is now based in Birmingham.

Malala also prayed for the speedy recovery of Sabeen's mother, who was injured in the armed attack.

The Pakistani teenager who championed the education of girls had herself narrowly escaped death at the hands of Taliban gunmen in 2012 when she was shot in the head.

She was airlifted to the UK where surgeons performed a marathon surgery to save her life.

Mahmud had received death threats when she opposed a campaign against Valentine's Day greetings by an Islamist group last year.

Suspicion immediately fell on the security forces, with her fellow activists suggesting she was killed for organising a discussion on a subject considered sensitive for the military.

The army said it had ordered its intelligence agencies to investigate the shooting.