( CNN ) -- A lawmaker in the Maldives has died after he was stabbed in the neck , authorities said Tuesday , the first legislator to be attacked and killed in the Indian Ocean country . Police are investigating the stabbing early Tuesday of Afrashim Ali , a lawmaker for the Progressive Party of the Maldives , said Hassan Haneef , a police spokesman . He said the motive for the attack was so far unclear . The killing comes during a period of political turmoil in the Maldives , an archipelago that attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year . Trouble in paradise : Understanding Maldives ' political turmoil . The nation 's first democratically elected president , Mohamed Nasheed , and his supporters say he was forced from office in February in a coup . His successor , Mohammed Waheed Hassan , insists the transfer of power was legitimate . Afrashim was `` a very nice guy , a very gentle person , '' said Ahmed Mahloof , another lawmaker for the Progressive Party who said he had seen his colleague 's body in hospital . Maloof said Afrashim was believed to have been attacked as he returned home after appearing on a live television broadcast . Waheed ordered Tuesday that the national flag be flown at half-staff until the end of Thursday .
Police are investigating the killing of a lawmaker early Tuesday . He is the first legislator to be assassinated in the island nation . The death comes amid a period of political turmoil in the Maldives .