Updated

Pakistani police say three gunmen have shot and killed a female singer who refused to accompany them to a private party.

Police official Saeed Khan says the incident happened in the northwestern city of Mardan on Saturday.

He says the artists, known only as Sumbul, was shot multiple times and killed at her home after the gunmen broke in and asked her to perform for them at a private party.

Khan says the perpetrators fled the scene of the killing and that he police are searching for them.

There have been similar attacks on female artists in this part of the country in the past.