The New York Times exposé that has rocked the IT and media industries in Pakistan and sent ripples across the political landscape is a story of two halves.

First, there is the central allegation itself: that Axact, an IT company that has spawned many rumours amidst the self-created hype, is effectively a massive fraud, a fake-degree mill on a scale that the country, and the world, has not seen before.

Second, there is the media angle: Bol network, owned by Axact, is set to launch soon, but now stands potentially fatally compromised because of the allegations against its parent organisation. Start with the allegations against Axact.

Read: FIA raids Axact offices, takes records and employees into custody

There have long been rumours in IT and business circles about Axact’s business model and quite how it was able to generate the massive amounts of cash that the company appeared to be making. No plausible explanations were offered by the company and it routinely dismissed the allegations as nothing more than rivals’ jealousies. Clearly, that status quo is no long tenable.

Fake degrees set-ups are hardly a novelty in Pakistan, but then nothing has been seen before on the scale of the global fraud that Axact is alleged to be conducting. Nothing less than a thorough investigation by the state — already promised by the federal government — will be able to conclusively resolve the issue and put to rest once and for all the speculation surrounding Axact.

Hopefully, that investigation will be conducted quickly and transparently.

Take a look: Nisar urges media to abstain from Axact scandal 'hype'

Second, the situation regarding Bol TV network. The media wars that convulsed the industry last year have reappeared with a vengeance.

Incredible, often tawdry, allegations are being bandied about by all sides, further tarnishing the industry as a whole and damaging the credibility of all concerned.

To be sure, some of Bol’s rivals have ecstatically jumped on the allegations made in The New York Times and appear to be doing their best to ensure a potential rival never makes it on air — or leave it terminally damaged if Bol TV does make it on air.

Yet, what of the manner in which Axact and Bol have responded to the allegations? The pugnacious manner in which Axact executives and some of Bol’s frontline stars have reacted to the very serious allegations has been cringe-worthy.

Surely, instead of attacking perceived media rivals — it should be noted that the Axact empire is still fundamentally rooted in IT — the company ought to explain its business and financial roots.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2015

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