‘AxactGate’ has captivated the imagination of educated Pakistanis for the last three days. The report by Declan Walsh, published in The New York Times, has raised credibility issues for an upcoming private media group. In its defence, the media group is blaming media rivals for maligning its name using their international connections. Further ‘glory’ to the story was added by the swift action of government agencies against Axact. Between the cries of fake degree scams and being a victim of international conspiracy, the pressing questions related to the issue are conveniently ignored and misrepresented.
At the very onset, let me say this to educated Pakistanis who are crying embarrassment at the story and labelling it a national disgrace: be sensible. Considering this, if true and proven, national shame will be the same as calling Bernie Madoff or the Enron incident national shames for the US, which they surely are not. If corporate scams were the criterion for national shame, the US would be the most disgraced nation on the face of this earth. This, at best, is a criminal act by a few individuals who should be brought to justice. The incident should be used for personal introspection rather than enhancing the already overflowing national guilt among our educated urbanites.
So, what is the issue? While details are still murky, one can try to answer a few questions here. One, was Axact selling degrees and diplomas through websites? The answer seems to be yes. Was it committing a crime doing that? The answer, ironically, is no. There is no federal law in the US that regulates the issuance of degrees. It is a purview of state governments. Though a few states have regulated the degree issuing procedures, most states have no regulation in this regard and most likely no investigation or charges will be pressed against Axact or its affiliated institutions in this regard. To understand this, readers may remember that an ace television anchor/ex-MNA had his degree issued by Trinity College and University, Spain (a US registered firm), which was declared fake by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) during scrutiny. But this does not constitute any legal ground for Trinity College, Spain or its principals to be charged with criminal offence because of the provisions of US law and the contract the holder most likely would have signed at the time of receiving the paper. I searched the internet for such programmes and, in terms and conditions of the contract, the onus of misuse solely lies on the holder; even in the US it is the holder or his employer who faces penalty for any misuse of such a fake diploma. This also explains why 48 hours into the incident, when the sluggish Pakistani system is up in investigations and raids, no inquiry has been launched in the US till the time of this writing.
So, if fake diplomas are not criminal, why does Axact not come out openly and admit to it? The question leaves room for two plausible explanations: 1) although the business may be legal, it is ethically wrong and it will be damaging for the reputation of a business house that is all set to create the biggest media empire in Pakistan, and 2) the story provided a pretext for a raid on the Axact business empire in Pakistan but the charges the empire may have to face are likely to be more substantive, including taxation and compliance with banking regulations. A confession to one charge, in the perception game, will lead to implication in all charges. So, in a nutshell, The New York Times story is a masterstroke because, after publishing of the story, it has provided a populist pretext to the Pakistani authorities to raid Axact. The legal battles on the issue will be waged in Pakistan mostly. Neither will Axact sue The New York Times for the story in US courts, because most of the assertions are likely true (though not criminal), nor will Axact opponents succeed in proving in US courts that Axact operated in a criminal way.
This is not the first time that an international story has talked of corruption in Pakistan but the government’s response makes me consider the whole saga to be a power play. There is no report that the US or any other government has approached the government of Pakistan to probe in reference to any criminal complaint there. No Pakistani citizen has come forward as a victim of the scam. Last year, at around this time, it was one media group crying victimisation, this year the tables seem to have turned. Honestly, it was ironic to see Kamran Khan plead, and rightly plead, “innocent till proven guilty” when he cried hoarse about corruption allegations against the last regime as definitive indictment.
Rather than being carried away by the power play of dominant media houses and political/business classes, let us raise the issues that are pertinent in making the media and state more transparent, true and accountable. For one, let us educate the public that all said and done, the corporate media in the end is corporate. Across the globe, it is prone to propaganda and the protection of interests. Second, if we want accountability of media owners, it should be across the board and, rather than being focused on the fake degree thing, which is more of a publicity gimmick, focus more on tax, money transactions and the silent investor issues of Axact. At the same time, probe all charges against other media owners related to tax, embezzlement and misrepresentation of finances, impartially and transparently. Third, to enable transparency, force all media houses to become public limited companies or report their finances publicly along with declaring all direct and indirect business interests of all the shareholders and their families. Fourth, to make media business less hegemonic, repeal cross-media ownership for fair competition. Fifth, ask the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) why it remained mum when the name of the country’s most prestigious institutes was linked with Axact for too long. Short of that, it will be a fake debate on the issue of fake degrees with fake legal and ethical premises.
The author can be reached on twitter at @aalimalik