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Busted Pak firm ‘sold 1,198 fake degrees to Saudis’

June 25, 2015

Riyadh, Jun 25: A Pakistani firm under investigation for fraud allegedly sold 1,198 fake degrees to Saudis between 2011 and 2015, a local publication reported on Wednesday.

fake degreesPakistani authorities have already arrested the owner of Axact Company, Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh, in Karachi for allegedly selling thousands of fake degrees to customers worldwide during this period.

Saudis received 1,198 fake degrees from nonexistent universities, for between SR50,000 and SR100,000, the report stated. Axact allegedly forged the certificates, with several consulates and government offices in certain countries around the world attesting these documents.

Jasim Al-Khaldi, Saudi chargé de a’ffairs in Islamabad, said the embassy and cultural mission were following up on the investigations. He said the Saudi government wants to know the names of citizens who obtained degrees from the company, and those of Pakistanis working in the Kingdom using these bogus qualifications.

Khayyam Akbar, Pakistani chargé de a’ffairs in the Kingdom, said his government would provide the Saudi government with the names of its citizens with fake degrees as soon as investigations are completed.

The multimillion-dollar fake degree scandal was first scooped by Arab News in 2009. Pakistan’s top investigative agencies launched a probe after the New York Times ran a report in May this year detailing what Arab News had already revealed.

Arab News had followed up on a report that a certain Rochville University had awarded a master’s in business administration to a bulldog named Chester.

The application had been made by the dog’s owner, Vicky Phillips, founder of GetEducated.com, in an attempt to expose the fake university. Rochville’s physical location was a mystery and Arab News learned from a courier company official in Dubai that the degree originated from Axact’s office in Karachi.

When the story was published in Arab News, it received a legal threat from Axact’s lawyers, and the article had to be removed from the Internet. There was, however, no retraction in the print edition and Arab News stood by the story.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Kuwait will allow citizens and residents to travel to and from the country, starting August 1, the government communication center tweeted on early Thursday, citing a cabinet decision.

The decision excludes residents coming from Bangladesh, Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Iran, Nepal.

Last month, Kuwait announced it would partially resume commercial flights from August, but does not expect to reach full capacity until a year later, as its aviation sector gradually recovers from a suspension sparked by the Covid-19 crisis.

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News Network
February 24,2020

Dubai, Feb 24: Kuwait and Bahrain confirmed on Monday their first novel coronavirus cases, the countries' health ministries announced, adding all had come from Iran.

Kuwait reported three infections and Bahrain one in citizens who had returned home from the Islamic republic.

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Agencies
May 31,2020

Riyadh, May 31: Over 90,000 mosques in Saudi Arabia reopened their doors to worshippers on Sunday morning after over a two-month closure as part of an ease in the curfew restrictions to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The worshipers were allowed to enter the mosques, except the mosques in Makkah, from Fajr prayers today morning (Shawwal 8) with a limit of 40 per cent capacity.

The reopening of mosques was be undertaken in accordance with the guidance of Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr Abdullatif Al Asheikh, and in line with advice issued by the Senior Council of Ulemas.

The ministry has embarked on a vigorous media campaign to urge all worshippers to abide by preventive measures for their own safety to curb the spread of Covid-19.Among the instructions are doing ablution at home, hand-washing and using sanitisers before going out to the mosque and after coming back home.

On Saturday, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has approved opening the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah in stages to the public.

The elderly and those with chronic diseases are advised to perform their prayers at home. Reading and reciting the Holy Quran online is advised, too, from one's own mobile phone or at least reading from a privately owned copy of the Holy Quran.

Bringing one's prayer mat to perform prayers in mosques is highly recommended as well as keeping a two-metre distance between one another prayer.

Accompanying children under the age of 15 to the mosques is prohibited. Putting on a face mask and avoiding shaking hands and other contact is also recommended.

Meanwhile, the ministry managed, during the closure of mosques, to undertaking a massive cleaning, sanitising and maintenance drive in all mosques Kingdom-wide, according to world-class standards and best known practices. This included sanitising over 10 million mosques, 43 million copies of several sizes and volumes of the Quran, more than 600,000 Holy Quran cupboards, in addition to repairing and maintaining about 176,000

water closets, annexed to mosques.

 

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