Axact scandal: Court reserves order on plea to transfer Shaikh

17 employees of Axact sent to Adiala Jail on a 14-day judicial remand

ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI: A district and sessions judge on Saturday reserved his judgment on an FIA request to transfer Axact’s CEO Shoaib Shaikh to Islamabad.

The FIA had argued Shaikh and other accused in a multimillion-dollar fake degree scam were needed to be presented in court for cases registered in Islamabad. However, the counsels for the accused submitted copies of a Sindh High Court verdict and requested the court issued an order only after hearing their arguments. The court later reserved its judgement on the plea.

Meanwhile, a judicial magistrate sent 17 employees of Axact to Adiala Jail on a 14-day judicial remand. The FIA had presented the employees in the court of Senior Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate Abdul Ghafoor Kakar after completion on their physical remand.

The FIA requested for a further two-day remand of the accused employees. However, the court turned down the request as the investigation officer, Guhar Ali, was in Karachi and sent the employees on a 14-day judicial remand. The court had handed over the employees on FIA’s physical remand on June 8.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2015.