COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Police say a lawmaker whose party is part of the Maldives' ruling coalition has been stabbed to death in his home.

Police spokesman Hassan Haneef says Afrasheem Ali was killed Monday night by an unidentified attacker at his home in the capital, Male. Haneef said an investigation was under way and "we are yet to establish a motive" for the killing.

The 46-year-old Ali was a member of the Progressive Party that's part of the coalition government in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Presidential spokesman Abbas Riza condemned the killing and praised Ali as an Islamic scholar and someone who was "widely respected by the public."

He said perpetrators will be apprehended and brought before the law.