Pakistani Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has condemned the killing of female human rights activist Sabeen Mahmud in Karachi and demanded the earliest arrest of the assailants, a media report said.

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

In a statement, Malala praised Mahmud, saying that she was a brave human rights activist and added Mahmud’s killing saddened her, Geo News reported.

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

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

Both of them suffered bullet injuries and were taken to a nearby private hospital where the doctors pronounced Sabeen Mahmud dead.

The Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) Director General on Saturday tasked the intelligence agencies to assist in the investigation of the killing.