PIA plane cleared after bomb hoax

PESHAWAR: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-350 coming from Karachi was cleared by the experts of the bomb disposal unit (BDU) on Monday after a bomb hoax panicked the crew and passengers on board. An official of the BDU said the experts checked the plane and found no explosives. "I along with the experts of the BDU checked the plane thoroughly and nothing was found on it," Assistant Inspector General of the BDU Shafqat Malik told The News.

The plane was cleared for its scheduled flight from the Bacha Khan International Airport, Peshawar. A source said the flight was on en route from Karachi to Peshawar when someone made a call to the flight dispatch centre in the port city about the presence of a bomb on the plane. The crew of the plane and officials of the airport in Peshawar were alerted about it and a state of emergency was declared at the Bacha Khan International Airport where the plane landed.