Telecom bills major reason for travel bans
Majority of expatriates who are 'stuck' in Bahrain is due to travel bans imposed by telecom companies, a diplomat said.
The Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA), which recently allowed the expats with travel ban to obtain work permits, must also look into the cause of the travel ban, said Pakistan Embassy Community Welfare Counsellor Maqsood Qadir Shah.
Mr Shah said that most of the travel bans were issued due to the financial irregularities allegedly committed by expatriates.
However in most cases, the expats are cheated by their sponsors, who misuse their personal documents to buy gadgets or phone connections.
“It’s not easy to get a job for them as the employer reviews every minute detail before offering him/her a job,” he told DT News.
“Unfortunately, many Pakistani expats are the victims of travel ban owing to the fraud committed by someone else. Nearly a hundred expats who approached the embassy are facing ban for just BD300 to BD400, especially from telecom companies.
“In all these cases, someone else has bought gadgets or obtained phone connection from telecom companies, misusing their CPRs. The LMRA should form a legal team to assist these expats.
“Nobody will trust a person, who is accused of financial fraud. Therefore, a concrete action is needed to study the genuineness of the ban, especially imposed by telecom companies.”
"Recently, a Pakistani expat approached the embassy, as he wanted to go to his home country," continued Mr Shah.
“He lost his parents in Pakistan. But he could not travel as he was facing travel ban. The travel ban was imposed on him by a telecom company for not paying the instalments of laptop allegedly bought by him. In fact, the poor man did not even know how to switch on a laptop. There is no question of buying a laptop from a person who can’t even operate it,” he explained.
According to Shah, all of the Pak expats, who are facing travel bans from telecom companies, are from poor background. “They can’t even hire a lawyer also because the lawyer’s fees would be higher than that of outstanding amount.”
“In most of the cases, the expats are cheated by their sponsors, who misused the CPR of their employees and bought gadgets or received phone connections from the telecom companies. But still prospective employers will not trust the expats who are facing travel ban. Therefore, the LMRA should address this and eliminate the problem,” Shah added.
A positive move
Migrant Workers Protection Society General Secretary Helen De Olivera Carvalho said the decision of LMRA to allow expats with travel bans to obtain work permits was a positive move.
Photo Caption : Shah and Helen
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