ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Chaudhry Salik Hussain on Thursday took notice of incidents involving overseas Pakistani workers being offloaded at airports across the country despite holding valid work visas, directing the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to resolve the issue and ensure such cases do not occur again.

The situation followed media reports citing a new rule requiring travelers leaving Pakistan for employment abroad to present a sworn affidavit, signed by a senior government official, confirming that they intend to work legally in the destination country and will not attempt illegal migration to a third state.

The measure was reportedly aimed at cracking down on human smuggling and preventing citizens traveling for legitimate work from being diverted to illegal migration. Local media reports said a number of Pakistani workers traveling abroad were offloaded in recent days.

“No one will be allowed to unlawfully stop workers at airports,” Hussain said, adding that overseas Pakistanis send foreign remittances to Pakistan, which drive the national economy, and are “highly respected.”

The FIA chief, Riffat Mukhtar, acknowledged such incidents had been reported at Lahore and Karachi airports, adding that they were under investigation.

The FIA, responsible for immigration at airports, said no new travel conditions had been imposed for work visa holders and denied reports that travelers were being required to obtain affidavits signed by government officers before departure.

“If any FIA officials are found involved [in offloading workers], strict action will be taken against them,” Mukhtar said, adding that a new digital immigration system would soon be launched to allow workers to complete pre-departure formalities online.

Hussain said the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and the FIA were preparing standard operating procedures to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.