FIA offloads 23 passengers from Bahrain-bound flight over work visa irregularities

LAHORE – The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)on Saturday offloaded 23 passengers attempting to travel to Bahrain on work visas after detecting serious irregularities in their documents and statements. The FIA spokesperson said that the passengers initially claimed they had secured employment through relatives. However, during further scrutiny, their statements were found to be inconsistent and misleading. The spokesperson said the passengers later admitted that they had arranged jobs through agents, while their bookings on a single flight also raised suspicion. Officials added that the passengers failed to provide satisfactory details about the nature of their employment and were unable to present valid foreign service agreements, a mandatory requirement for overseas employment. In light of these discrepancies, all 23 passengers were offloaded. The FIA has advised travellers to fulfil all legal requirements and obtain proper immigration clearance before departing for foreign employment. How to avoid being offloaded at airports when traveling abroad from Pakistan?