A Doha-bound Qatar Airways flight from New Delhi made an emergency landing at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport after it reportedly developed a "technical fault", according to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesman Saifur Rehman.

The spokesman confirmed that Qatar Airways had sent an alternative aircraft to take the 283 passengers to their destination by 1pm.

He said the pilot had declared an emergency after detection of smoke in the plane's cargo hold.

According to a report by India Times, flight QR579 had taken off from Delhi at 3.20am (India time) on Monday and landed at Karachi at 5.30am.

"The aircraft landed safely at Karachi where it was met by emergency services and passengers disembarked orderly via stairs," the report quoted the airline as saying in a statement.

"The incident is currently under investigation and a relief flight is being arranged to transport passengers onwards to Doha," the airline added in the statement.

The CAA spokesman said "all flight operations at the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, are normal".