ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan set up a six-member joint investigation team (JIT) on Thursday to probe a mega corruption scandal allegedly involving former president Asif Ali Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur and their associates.
The JIT was constituted on the request of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which is currently probing fake bank accounts which were allegedly used to launder billions of rupees.
FIA officials suspect that the former president and his sister, among others, benefited from transactions made using these bank accounts.
This is the second JIT of its kind in Pakistan to probe top politicians for money laundering and embezzlement. The first one was formed to probe former premier Nawaz Sharif and his family for making assets beyond their stated means of income.
Sharif is now serving a 10-year prison sentence along with his daughter, Maryam, and son-in-law, Captain Safdar.
The Supreme Court’s decision to form the JIT, headed by Assistant Director-General Ehsan Sadiq, is likely to have political repercussions in the coming weeks and months, as Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party is the third largest political party in the National Assembly and is also in power in the province of Sindh.
Supreme Court forms team to probe mega corruption case
Supreme Court forms team to probe mega corruption case
- Pakistan’s former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur are named in the case
- This is the second time the apex court has established a JIT against politicians
Pakistan to send over 10,000 workers to Italy over three years after securing employment quota
- Government says Italy will admit 3,500 workers annually under seasonal and non-seasonal labor schemes
- It calls the deal a 'milestone' as Italy becomes the first European country to allocate job quota for Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has secured a quota of 10,500 jobs from Italy over the next three years, an official statement said on Saturday, opening legal employment pathways for Pakistani workers in Europe under Italy’s seasonal and non-seasonal labor programs.
Under the arrangement, 3,500 Pakistani workers will be employed in Italy each year, including 1,500 seasonal workers hired for time-bound roles, and 2,000 non-seasonal workers for longer-term employment across sectors.
The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development said Italy is the first European country to allocate a dedicated labor quota to Pakistan, describing the move as a milestone in Pakistan’s efforts to expand overseas employment opportunities beyond traditional labor markets in the Middle East.
“After prolonged efforts, doors to employment for the Pakistani workforce in Italy are about to open,” Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Chaudhry Salik Hussain said, calling the quota allocation a “historic milestone.”
The jobs will be available across multiple sectors, including shipbreaking, hospitality, healthcare and agriculture, with opportunities for skilled and semi-skilled workers in professions such as welding, technical trades, food services, housekeeping, nursing, medical technology and farming.
The agreement comes as Pakistan seeks to diversify overseas employment destinations for its workforce and increase remittance inflows, which remain a key source of foreign exchange for the country’s economy.
The ministry said a second meeting of the Pakistan-Italy Joint Working Group on labor cooperation is scheduled to be held in Islamabad in February 2026, where implementation and future cooperation are expected to be discussed.
