PESHAWAR: A bomb hoax delayed a dubai-bound flight, which was cleared to resume its journey after it was cleared by security personnel.

The flight took off at 5pm for its original destination.

CAA officials said that the flight was cleared for take-off after a detailed search of aircraft, passengers and their luggage by BDS officials.

Earlier, security at Peshawar's Bacha Khan International Airport was ramped up following a bomb threat aboard a Dubai-bound flight.

An emergency was declared on the Shaheen Air International flight NL-786 which was scheduled to depart from Peshawar at 2:30 pm.

Shaheen Air Station Manager Mushtaq had denied the bomb threat, saying the flight was suspended for "operational reasons".

Civil Aviation Authority sources, however, confirmed the threat and said a search operation is under way.

The flight was evacuated and a thorough search was conducted of passengers and their luggage. Bomb Disposal Squad was called in to aid the search operation.

Security sources too confirmed that the flight was offloaded and a security check was conducted.

Since the Paris attacks which killed at least 129 people, there have been several bomb threats on flights around the world, causing panic among travellers and resulting in temporary delays, after which security at airports around the world has been beefed up.

This was, however, the first bomb threat on a flight in Pakistan following the Nov 13 attacks.