File photo. Tauseef Mustafa—AFP
The suspect has already stabbed and wounded 11 women walking on the streets of the port city
Police announced a reward of nearly $5,000 on Thursday for information that could help them nab a serial attacker who has stabbed 11 women so far in Karachi.
The attacks began late last month when a man on a motorcycle began sporadically wounding women walking on streets in the eastern part of the sprawling city. They escalated late Wednesday when the attacker targeted five women in different parts of the neighborhood, bringing the total number of women assaulted to 11 and alarming authorities.
CCTV footage of one attack shows the man stabbing a burqa-clad woman from behind and then fleeing, police said. “It is the pattern that he attacks on the women from rear with some sharp pointed object… We have arrested at least eight individuals having similarities with the appearance of the attacker,” said Samiullah Soomro, a senior police officer.
Police also announced a reward of Rs. 500,000 ($4,700) for information leading to the attacker’s arrest. “Our full focus in on this case and we hope to find the culprit soon,” Soomro said.
The attacks echo a similar spree in Rawalpindi last year, when a man stabbed 17 women over a series of months, killing one, because he wanted “revenge” for a cruel stepmother. “I hate women,” 22-year-old Mohammad Ali told police when he was finally arrested in August.