PIA employee held for 'luggage theft' at Karachi airport

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employee has been arrested for alleged theft of a passenger’s luggage at the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi.

The incident came to light after a female passenger on board the national flag carrier's flight, PK-305, lodged a complaint about her missing luggage after the flight's arrival from Lahore, according to media reports.

The suspect was identified as Tariq Ali, an employee in PIA’s engineering department. He was taken into custody after a brief brawl with airport authorities.

Officials said that the missing luggage that contained personal belongings of the passenger was recovered with the help of the airport administration.

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The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) has handed over the custody of the suspect to the Airport Security Force (ASF) for further legal action.

The suspect's airport access pass has also been suspended until the outcome of an inquiry launched against him.

Separately, PIA has also initiated an internal inquiry into the incident.