State Dept has no agreement with Axact

WASHINGTON - The US State Department has no connection with a Pakistani software company Axact, which is accused of selling fake degrees around the world, a US official said.
“The Department of State has no agreement for document authentication with Axact,” a State Department official said, when asked about the company’s alleged use of fake websites, award of bogus degrees, and claims of linkages with American universities.
The official comments came after the Pakistan government began an investigation into the company’s affairs following the publication of a detailed report in The New York Times alleging that it made millions of dollars marketing fake degrees worldwide. Axact has since denied the report, insisting it was not involved in any illegal activity.
However, the official, speaking on the background, would not comment on any aspect of the Axact scandal, including the company’s alleged use of US Secretary of State’s signatures.
“We don’t want to speculate,” the official said, pointing out that there is an ongoing Pakistani investigation into the issue.
Meanwhile, Michael Kugelman a senior associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a think-tank, discussed the impact of the Axact scandal on Pakistan's growing IT sector in an article published in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
He wrote, "One big unknown is the potential impact on Pakistan’s information technology sector. India may be more widely recognized for its IT successes, but Pakistan has enjoyed its fair share of achievements. In recent years, Technology Review recognized an IT expert at Lahore University of Management Sciences as one of the world’s top young innovators, and several Pakistani software applications earned international awards. Although Pakistan is a relatively small player in global IT, its ranks are growing, with about 1,500 registered firms and 10,000 IT grads entering the market annually.

ePaper - Nawaiwaqt