In Pakistan there are not so many home made corporates that one can fancy but there are
some exceptions such as Axact; a growing IT company. When I was in Pakistan and more
specifically in Karachi, I always wanted to work for Axact. Because of its robust organizational
structure, fast growth and various educational and recreational opportunities for its employees; it
can easily be regarded as one of the top employers of Pakistan.
But until recently, it has been involved in many controversies from hosting illegal porn websites to selling fake degrees, it became the notorious employer of Pakistan. It is no less than the curious case of Benjamin button who travels in time but in opposite direction. Everyone sees it but no one understands it. Same is the case of controversies with Axact, everyone see them but little do they understand. The corporate world always has its pits, from the financial giants like Lehman brothers to medium scale firms like Axact, the air is always contaminated with scandals. The inaction of the governments involved is linked with fears of losing employments, economic melt down and other related socio-political aspects.
Technological entrepreneurship is a lifeline to Pakistan, which many do not conceive. The
pakistani entrepreneurship industry is linked with outside world, as it requires outsourcing of
work from other western companies. In west the increasing standards of work ethics and
transparency makes it almost difficult for any big firm to outsource its work to Pakistan. The
latest Axact controversy and the article “Fake Diplomas, Real Cash: Pakistani Company Axact
Reaps Millions” by Declan Walsh in New York times is a deep blow to pakistani technological
entrepreneurship industry.
I was overwhelmed with curiosity after reading this article by Walsh. The controversy blew out of
proportions specially because of its linkage with the upcoming media house BOL network. I was
so much intrigued by this article that I asked my friends who worked in the past and are still
working for Axact about the nature of business of Axact and its link with fake degrees.
Following
are some of the responses shared publicly on the condition of anonymity:
Question: What are the main businesses of Axact ?
Anonymous-1: Graphic Design, Business Consulting, CRM and Education
Question: What type of education they provide?
Anonymous-1: Online education, online courses accredited with foreign universities and some
are independent courses by Axact.
Question: Is there any truth in Axact hosting illegal porn websites ?
Anonymous-1: No, not as of I know, I was in corporate communications.
Anonymous-2: Being a graphic designer, I knew there were some colleagues working on such
things but I never worked on it, so I can’t say for sure if it had happened or not.
Question: Fake degrees ? what is the reality ?
Anonymous-1: Seems to me pretty much cooked up, the media channel BOL controversy has
its strings attached with this controversy. I have never seen or heard about it.
Anonymous-2: From fake degrees to any other IT related shady business they always had their
hands soaked in it, but I have no proof of it.
It is difficult to conclude anything from these mixed responses, but the official response of our
government suggests that there has to be some powerful people behind this controversy. Our
country and its law enforcement agencies which had been slower than a tortoise when it comes
to implementing the law acted so swiftly on mere a publication that it makes it close to
unprecedented. There are currently people in our senate, in our parliament and other respected
governmental institutions with fake degrees and FIA knows of everyone but still they chose to do
nothing against them, yet they raided and arrested the employees of Axact on mere allegations.
Let us hope that this controversy is resolved successfully and results in more corporate
transparency and cultivation of work ethics in Pakistani firms.
