Axact chief’s plea rejected by SHC
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KARACHI: The Sindh High Court threw out on Monday a petition of the chief executive of Axact, an information technology firm allegedly involved in an international fake degree scam, seeking an injunction against his possible arrest.
A division bench comprising Justices Ahmed Ali M. Sheikh and Abdul Maalik Gaddi dismissed the petition of Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh, saying they didn’t find any merit in it and found it premature.
Read: Pakistan seeks FBI assistance to probe Axact scam
The bench said: “Since the petitioner is not indicted in any FIR till date, learned counsel for the petition very candidly conceded that FIA has authority in the matter to conduct an inquiry or initiate action against the company and inquiry is under way, we refrain ourselves from making any observation as it may prejudice case of either party.”
Also read: FIA raids Axact offices, takes records and employees into custody
The Axact chief, represented by Advocate Anwer Mansoor Khan, had petitioned the SHC praying it to restrain the Federal Investigation Agency from arresting him.
Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2015
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Comments (26) Closed
May 26, 2015 09:38am
He deserves capital punishment if found guilty.
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May 26, 2015 10:18am
No matter how much i may disagree with the sort of business axact has been running, the govt & medias reaction over a NYTIMES article is def out of proportion. In the past, there have been many articles on corruption and our govt's incompetence but never i have seen such reaction. Also, for those comparing Mr Shoaib with Gates & Jobs.... you folks need to manage your expectations.
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May 26, 2015 10:18am
Let the guy explain his position , dont do a media trial , if he is guilty punish him but dont destroy him before that
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May 26, 2015 10:20am
Both the media and the government has declared Axact guilty of all crimes + more even before starting investigation. Who needs enemies when our government and media are there...
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May 26, 2015 10:25am
Pakistan is wasting another talent!
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May 26, 2015 10:29am
@Omar Bro nothing funny. If this guy dont stop he can bring billions dollars a months in Pakistan. So far not a single case against him in USA or rest of the world. Its cyberworld now. Where every things run on internet. You even dosent know where I am sitting and we are communicating. Hence running online business is future. Very sad about him.
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May 26, 2015 10:36am
I don't know about this SA Shaikh but it's true to assume that he had brought some synergies to Pakistan's IT sector. So, only depending onthe NYT news, the Pakistan government shouldn't take any stern action against the person or the Axact. So far I have gone through the published report minutely, I found most of the items were reported quoting the former officials of the Axact, who have been somehow dismissed or sacked earlier. Obviously, I guess, these people have had some sorts of revengeful attitudes towards the Axact that may be instigated them to leakage purposeful information to the reporter.For the sake of unveil truth, the Pakistan authority should,first, make a proper investigation, then take the view and the cognizance, which are required, to warrant the crime and criminals. Before doing so, it would not be wised to close the institute which has been providing breads and butters for so many people and earning dividends for Pakistan economy.
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May 26, 2015 10:44am
good
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May 26, 2015 10:46am
I could recall from mid 80s when an American University had an office close to Shahrah e Faisal and used to offer BBA/MBA throughout the year.
With the introduction of information technology in Pakistan this kind of business boom where are Axact has honor of being the Market Leader.
To our misfortune, Pakistani's have always been looking for "short cut" and a foreign degree means a high profile career if you have good personality and are able to speak good English.
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May 26, 2015 10:47am
@malik but that is a devlish talent
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May 26, 2015 10:54am
He spoiled his talent in wrong way.
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May 26, 2015 10:55am
He should be punished because of defaming Pakistan.
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May 26, 2015 10:55am
Oh well a person might be next to bill gates and steve jobs in any event he will have to prove his innocence in court and that will only raise his stature not lower it good luck to him and his team and hope justic is done .
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May 26, 2015 10:58am
Come on guys.....use ur brains....do u think a guy can reach that height and money by selling fake degrees....how much is the cost for a fake degree ????
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May 26, 2015 11:16am
@Ahmed Crime is crime, if he is guilty forget about his talent. The question is not about his wealth, the question is about alleged fake degrees issued by his organization.
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May 26, 2015 12:00pm
1/2:
Nothing has been proven as yet. Yes, there may be some wrong doings that Axact was involved in but I have a few questions:
1- Do we have all the media houses in Pakistan (Geo/Express/ARY/Samaa etc) neat and free from undeclared income, and all are paying proper taxes?
2- Was Axact involved in money transfers from Pakistan to elsewhere or from elsewhere to Pakistan? If it is the latter, is Axact not much superior to our corrupt politicians - who launder money outside Pakistan?
3- Why did all the so called big names of our "investigative" journalists joined BOL, and were receiving money beyond their imagination sitting home? Either they don't have any investigative knowhow or they just wanted extra money - come what may!
4- Our govt. is seeking help from FBI. Would the FBI grill all the alleged westerners who were part of the so called scam?
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May 26, 2015 12:14pm
Such Scam's can hurt Pakistan's IT industry on international level.
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May 26, 2015 12:22pm
@Ahmed: I think the cost was anywhere between $200 to $3000. Correct me please if Im wrong tho. And this was just the beginning, the subsequent fleecing and threatening would make the victim pay more. So even if you (very pessimistically) sell about 10 degrees a day...you can do the maths
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May 26, 2015 12:56pm
Both giver and receiver of fake degrees should be punished, knowing very well degrees can not be obtained in few weeks or months.
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May 26, 2015 01:17pm
Please look at the leading world companies in IT. The details of their customers, employees, offices and financial statements are all there. Their promoters when talk makes lot of sense. How can you have a "leading IT company" when you can't name a single client and when you are paying less than Rs.100 as taxes. Look at him and other leading CEOs and you can make out the truth.
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May 26, 2015 01:18pm
@Ahmed If you have followed the whole case, a fake degree sold in middle east fetched $20,000 up to $50,000 apart of additional rip offs in the name of attestation they took from job oriented people. He didn't just offer a luxury car and countless perks to his employees within the first year of their employment solely by making some software nobody has ever heard of.
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May 26, 2015 01:37pm
As I understand from his interview . axact selling software to different edus and they cannot be blamed for others actions . God knows what is truth. But his talk makes sense.
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May 26, 2015 01:38pm
@malik ..."Pakistan is wasting another talent!"....I didn't know that cheating others is considered a great talent.....LOL
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May 26, 2015 01:44pm
@Zack
:D Nice Joke
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May 26, 2015 03:40pm
I think we prefered to be American rather then Pakistani. Bear in mind the journalist who written that report is banned in Pakistan for Journalism. In any case let the chap found guilty first before jumping to conclusions.
This is typical phenomena for us as a nation that we always see what's been shown by our so call free media. I think we should give axact a chance to be guilty first rather then pointing fingures with out any significant evidence. If he is guilty then he deserve the capital punishment.
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May 27, 2015 03:39am
The court gave the justice,. Is there any person who can tell if the justice was wright or wrong. Sir, the politicions are the most corrupt people of the Pakistan. Because the money is real, gives pleasure and power. Their aim is now to cut every body down.
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