A Malaysian was reportedly killed in a popular restaurant in Kabul, Afghanistan in a suicide attack by militants there.

Gnanathurai Nagarajah , a Budget and Policy Reform advisor with in Adam Smith International, is said to have been killed when militants opened fire at a close range, while patrons of the restaurant were eating.

According to a statement issued by the company, Gnanathurai is among 21 people who died in the incident.

Also killed was another one of its staff, Dharmender Phangurha Singh, who was the company’s Aid Management Advisor.

Gnanathurai, a Malaysian national, received his doctorate in economics for his study of the governments' ability to rein in expenditure over the medium and long-term.

“Del and Gnana were key members of a team that helped achieve huge improvements in the Afghan budgeting process, not least one of the most rapid increases in budget transparency seen anywhere in the world. Their award-winning work to increase the effectiveness of public spending has made a real difference to the lives of ordinary Afghans,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, according to a report on mStar online , Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin said the ministry will work closely with the Afghan authorities on this matter.

Hamzah said the ministry would provide further information about the case upon receiving more information.