Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah on Friday said that an important clue had been found in relation to the knife attacks on women in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar area of Karachi, and that police had reason to believe that two suspects were involved in the attacks.

Since last week, fear has gripped residents of Gulistan-i-Jauhar after multiple reports of at least one attacker stabbing women in the area with a sharp object.

The police have launched a manhunt and an investigation into the motivation and identity of the attacker.

Three First Information Reports (FIRs) have been registered ─ two at the Sharea Faisal police station and one at the Gulistan-i-Jauhar police station ─ on the complaint of three women who said that they had been attacked by a lone "knife-wielding" motorcyclist.

Speaking to the media on Friday, the chief minister said that there is a reason to believe that two suspects ─ one from Sahiwal in Punjab and the other from Karachi ─ are involved in the attacks.

Expressing hope that the real criminal will soon be put behind bars, Shah added that both suspects are yet to be arrested. "We will not let anyone to play with the law," Shah added.

A day earlier, after police claimed to have made a key arrest in the case, another woman was stabbed and injured in Gulistan-i-Jauhar in the evening despite a heavy deployment of police at more than two dozen spots.

The 28-year-old woman, identified as Tahira Bano, was stabbed and wounded by a lone attacker riding a motorbike in the busy Rado Bakery area. She was admitted to a private hospital for treatment.

The incidents have not only emerged as a serious challenge for the police, they have also prompted political activists to question the effectiveness of the provincial PPP government.