Pakistan police today announced a reward of 500,000 rupees for information leading to the arrest of a helmet-wearing bike-borne attacker who has stabbed at least 12 women so far in the country's financial capital.
Wearing a helmet and riding a motorcycle, the attackers identity still remains a mystery for the Karachi police which claimed that it has rounded up 16 suspects.
Panic has gripped the congested Gulistan-e-Jauhar area, the Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Shah Faisal town areas in Pakistan's financial hub after the lone wolf attacker targeted at least 12 women and girls in the last 10 days, officials said.
The attacker last night stabbed five women in different areas of the city.
Police announced a reward of 500,000 rupees for information leading to the attacker's arrest.
Additional Inspector-General Karachi, Mushtaq Mahar, told the media that they were close to cracking the case.
Mahar said initially the police felt the attacker might be suffering from a mental disorder but the coordinated manner in which he carried out the attacks last night in different parts of the neighbourhood suggested he had other motives.
CCTV footage shows the attacker approaching women or girls from behind and stabbing them with a knife in the back or in some cases upfront before speeding away.
"There have been at least five FIRs registered by some victims and their families at different police stations," Mahar said.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has instructed the police to arrest the attacker soon.
Asked if terrorists were involved in these incidents to spread fear and panic, SP Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto said the Ansarul Sharia Pakistan may be responsible for the attacks.
He said the group might be trying to divert the attention of the law enforcement agencies.
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