Sahiwal police have arrested the prime suspect in the recent knife attacks on women that have been taking place in Karachi, District Inspector General Sultan Ali Khowaja said on Sunday.

Waseem, who has been involved in similar attacks on women in Sahiwal, is being transferred to Karachi where further investigations will be conducted to determine his involvement in the Karachi attacks, the DIG added.

Earlier in October, fear gripped residents of Gulistan-i-Jauhar area after reports surfaced of a ‘knife attacker’ targeting women in the area. A number of cases had been registered at police stations in Shahrah-i-Faisal and Gulistan-i-Jauhar, with women claiming that they had been attacked by a lone "knife-wielding" motorcyclist.

Subsequently, the police had launched a manhunt and an investigation into the motivation and identity of the attacker.

On Friday, police told the administrative judge of the antiterrorism courts that Waseem's alleged accomplice, M. Shahzad, who was arrested on Thursay, had disclosed during initial questioning that he provided cover to Waseem, who came to Karachi around a month ago, during knife attacks and also carried out reconnaissance.

Police had said that Shahzad further revealed that Waseem was suffering from some psychological disorder and he enjoyed the news of his attacks when it was aired by TV channels.

He had also targeted many women in Sahiwal in 2015. However, after his arrest he was released on bail, police had added.