I believe the colleague I am talking about will not lie to me on such a pretext as I know him well for the last 2 years.

Its possible due to the sectarian unrest and uprisings in the recent past in countries like Bahrain and Kuwait, they might have made this an unwritten policy.

Any one is free to clarify this matter with the HR of Takreer ADNOC on a personal level so that the real picture is revealed. It's possible they won't admit it to an outsider.