18 July 2004	Sunday	29 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

NEW YORK, July 17: The US authorities have launched a search for the son of a Pakistani pilot who arrived in New York on July 7, to spend holidays with his family.

Saqib Munir, 18-year old son of PIA's Captain Zahid Munir, was reported to have been standing behind his father in the lobby of Pennsylvania Hotel located opposite the Madison Square Garden, while his father was going over the crew list. Minutes later when Capt Munir turned around he was gone.

According to Capt Munir, he and his family members looked for him for over three hours before calling the police. His son was not carrying any moneyat the time of his disappearance.

The New York police refused to file a missing persons complaint until after 24 hours of the incident. However, on the intervention of Pakistan's Consul General, Haroon Shaukat, the Department of Homeland Security and FBI agreed to launch a search for the missing boy.