Police found Zainab Ansari’s body in a garbage dumpster in Kasur district near the eastern city of Lahore last week, four days after she was reported missing.
Residents of the area have said the murder was the 12th such incident in a year, setting off fears of a serial rapist killer on the loose.
Shahbaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab province where Kasur is located, addressing the media, said the arrested man — identified as 24-year-old Imran Ali — had confessed to Zainab’s murder and his DNA matched samples found on her body.