Information Ministry writes letter to PEMRA, seeks temporary suspension of Bol TV channel for being part of fake degree mill company
The federal government on Thursday wrote a letter to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), asking it not to broadcast BOL TV channel till completion of investigation into the degree scam by Axact — the parent company of the upcoming television and newspaper group.
“A letter has been sent to PEMRA to stop Bol’s transmission on a temporary basis,” Federal Information Secretary Muhammad Azam told a private news channel.
A detailed NYT report titled “Fake Diplomas, Real Cash: Pakistani Company Axact Reaps Millions” and written by New York Times Pakistan bureau chief Declan Walsh had outlined how Axact — referred to as a “secretive Pakistani software company” — allegedly earned millions of dollars from scams involving fake degrees, non-existent online universities and manipulation of customers.
According to the report, Axact created a series of fake websites involving “professors” and students who it said were in fact paid actors.
On Wednesday, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against seven individuals, including Axact director and CEO Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh as well as a UAE-based company. The individuals named in the FIR were subsequently arrested and are in FIA remand until June 4.
The arrests came after an FIA raid on the Axact office on Khayaban-e-Ittehad, where officials said a large number of university degrees and student identification cards were recovered.
Earlier on Monday, the Interior Ministry of Pakistan along with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) wrote a letter to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seeking legal assistance to further probe into the Axact fake degree scam.
