The Pakistan International Airlines has initiated an inquiry against the pilot for allowing Reham Khan, former wife of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan, to sit in the cockpit during her journey to Lahore from London.

‘According to initial probe, it was found that Reham Khan visited the cockpit for a few minutes during her journey to Lahore from London on Thursday,’ Dawn online reported PIA spokesman Danial Gilani as saying.

According to the pilot, he had ‘entertained’ the request of Reham Khan to sit in the cockpit.

Gilani said that Reham had expressed her desire to sit in the cockpit, which the pilot could not turn down.

‘Although it appears a courtesy on the part of the pilot, the PIA cannot ignore the rules,’ Gilani said, adding that under the law unauthorised persons were not allowed to enter the cockpit.

‘The responsibility lies with the pilot not to allow anyone to sit in the cockpit,’ he said. ‘This is against the law and a safety hazard.’

‘The PIA management has initiated an inquiry into the matter. It will take appropriate disciplinary action against the pilot in light of the inquiry’s findings,’ the spokesman said.

The PIA had to launch a formal inquiry after pictures of Reham Khan sitting in the cockpit were uploaded on social media, source said.

‘It was very difficult for the PIA management to ignore this matter after her pictures appeared on social media. All the guns would have been towards the PIA had it not taken action in this regard,’ he said.

Interestingly, the PIA officials also accorded Reham Khan a warm welcome at the Lahore airport.

Danial Gilani, however, said if someone warmly received her at the airport in his or her individual capacity, the management did not mind.

Reham Khan could not be reached for her version despite repeated attempts.