Pakistan grounds elderly Fokkers

The plane was heading for Lahore and then Islamabad, reports say.

The government of Pakistan has barred the state-run airline from using its fleet of elderly Fokker planes for carrying passengers from Thursday.

It follows a crash on Monday in which 45 people died in Punjab province.

A government minister said that people were afraid to travel in the planes after the latest crash.

The 38-year-old plane came down minutes after taking off from the eastern city of Multan. It was the third such crash of a Fokker F-27 in recent years.

The government said that the planes - operated by Pakistan International Airlines - would now be used solely for cargo.

The six Fokkers in the fleet are due for replacement within about a year.