ISLAMABAD – Scores of Pakistani workers holding valid work visas and confirmed tickets, are being =off-loaded by immigration authorities amid massive crackdown.
Immigration officials stopped several passengers and demanded to know why Punjab residents are flying from Karachi and other airports. Despite explanations, passengers were denied boarding, and their ticket went to waste.
Amid denials, experts started identifying possible reasons behind these sudden off-loadings. Workers are being stopped for using airports outside their home provinces, despite having every legal right to travel from any airport. Additionally, immigration officials have started demanding formal experience certificates from laborers, electricians, plumbers, and masons, despite knowing that these professions in Pakistan rarely involve official documentation.
Federal Investigators offered its own justification, claiming that some travelers were stopped due to suspicion they might fall victim to human trafficking networks that move people from Gulf countries to Africa and then onward to Europe via dangerous sea routes. FIA said some passengers had irregularities in paperwork, some lacked financial proof or hotel bookings (particularly those on visit visas), one traveler appeared on an IBMS watchlist, and a government employee could not present the required NOC.
Despite widespread panic, the agency denied new rules or affidavits and that investigations are ongoing.
Saudi Arabia itself has tightened immigration procedures. Kingdom suspended block visa quotas for several countries, including Pakistan, earlier this year to control immigration and illegal recruitment. Pakistani workers must now get mandatory protector stamp from the Bureau of Emigration, provide job-relevant experience or educational certificates, and ensure their employment contracts are fully verified by Saudi authorities.
