Press release
Axact and Its Founder Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh Cleared of All Fraud and Fake Degree Allegations: Courts Found No Evidence in Any Case Filed Since 2015
Axact and Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh have been acquitted in every case brought against them since 2015. The courts found no evidence, no victims and no forged documents. On 3 August 2026, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled in Axact’s favour. After 11 years, justice has been done.
9 November 2026 — After eleven years, the courts of Pakistan have cleared Axact and its founder, Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh, of every fraud and fake degree allegation made against them in 2015. The High Court of Sindh, the Islamabad High Court and a Special Court in Islamabad all acquitted them, finding no evidence to support any of the charges, and on 3 August 2026 the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled in Axact’s favour, clearing the names of Axact and Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh for good. The full story is on The Axact Case page.
Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh Announces BOL
In 2013, Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh announced BOL, a new media network built to set a benchmark of excellence for Pakistani broadcasting. The response was unprecedented. Pakistan’s biggest marketing campaign followed, and BOL received more than 100,000 job applications in a single week and more than two million in a month. The country’s top anchors signed with BOL, its fleet of modern DSNG vans toured the country, and its logo appeared everywhere, from rickshaws and buses to grocery shops. Media veterans welcomed it as a revolution for the industry. Before it had even gone on air, BOL was the most talked-about channel in Pakistan.
Axact Was Accused Just Days Before BOL’s Launch
BOL’s rise shook Pakistan’s established media industry. In May 2015, just days before BOL was due to launch, Axact was accused of fraud and of selling fake degrees. The allegations named no credible source and offered no evidence, but they spread quickly under labels such as “Axact scam”, “Axact fraud” and “Axact fake degree scandal”.
Years later, in court, the truth came out. The State’s own witnesses admitted there were no victims, no forged documents and no evidence, and the High Court of Sindh called the case “an ill-conceived action that was initiated by the State.”
Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh Jailed for 18 Months Without Evidence
What followed was swift. Axact’s Islamabad offices were closed within 12 hours of the allegations being made, without an FIR. Within 48 hours, its Karachi offices were seized, and, as the High Court of Sindh later recorded, “stripped of all the hardware and software” inside them.
Television and newspapers ran the story day after day, targeting not only Axact’s leadership but their families and every Axact employee. Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh and members of his leadership team were arrested and held in jail for 18 months, on charges where bail is normally granted against a single guarantor, before bail was finally granted.
The Axact Case Cost Pakistan 82% of Its IT Exports
The damage went far beyond one company. 15,000 people who worked at Axact were affected overnight, along with the 150,000 family members who depended on them. Axact had been Pakistan’s largest IT exporter: in 2014 it brought in US$355 million of the country’s US$432 million in IT exports, as reported to the State Bank of Pakistan. After the crackdown, according to State Bank of Pakistan and World Bank reports, those IT exports fell to US$55.1 million. The High Court of Sindh later warned of exactly this damage:
“Pakistan’s integrity and goodwill in the international world is put at stake through such misconceived actions.”
Axact Refuses to Back Down
Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh, his family, Axact’s employees and BOL’s staff stood firm through all of it. Crowds gathered outside court to welcome him, and public figures in Pakistan and around the world spoke in support of Axact and BOL.
The team went on to launch BOL in grand style, and it became Pakistan’s number one channel on its very first day. Axact moved its business operations abroad and carried on. Today, the company Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh built into a US$20 billion business is focused on artificial intelligence.
Every case has now ended in acquittal, confirming what Axact said from the start.
Sindh High Court Finds No Evidence Against Axact
On 10 March 2023, the High Court of Sindh acquitted Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh and the Axact management in the Karachi case. The court found that the State had no evidence at all:
“Not one of the proverbial ‘shred of evidence’ was found by it to back up the allegations made by the State. Absolutely none.”
“In fact it will not be a stretch to say that perhaps there was no evidence.”
On the central allegation, fake degrees, the court said:
“As regards the allegation of preparing and selling false degrees and certificates … not an iota of evidence is on record in this regard.”
The court described how the case began:
“It is obvious at this stage that it was an ill-conceived action that was initiated by the State.”
“Courts of law are however expected to not be swayed by media hype or the opinion of commentators.”
And it criticised the State for putting Axact’s people through eight years of trial:
“If after 8 years the State acknowledges and admits that they did not gather any meaningful evidence … then it had no right to make citizens go through such tribulations. Such conduct cannot be reprimanded enough.”
“Nothing in the case shows why members of the management team were implicated and made to go through trying times.”
“Why should the applicants be asked to face the rigors of trial even for one day when they deserve to be acquitted now?”
“It is hoped and expected that the law enforcement agencies of the country will focus less on their exuberance to arrest and incarcerate persons who are not hardened or desperate criminals.”
The State Admits It Had No Evidence Against Axact and Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh
The State listed 91 witnesses and later dropped 64 of them. As the High Court of Sindh recorded, the State’s own witnesses admitted there was nothing to support any of the charges:
“The State admits that not one person who complained he was cheated by the applicants came forward as a witness.”
“The State admits that no evidence of forgery was found.”
“The State admits that no forged document was found.”
“It is an admitted position that all transfers of money have been through formal banking channels and that full disclosures have been made to the regulators.”
The State’s own investigating officer, on the case since its inception, told the court it had no evidence:
“He testified before the learned trial court that not one piece of incriminating evidence was found to prove the case. He has repeated the same before this court during the hearing of this case. He was not declared hostile by the prosecution and thus what he said at trial is accepted by the State.”
The prosecution’s own forensic expert confirmed Axact was operating legally:
“He also admitted that Axact had been operating all its business activities pursuant to valid licences and permissions issued to it. He found nothing incriminating in what he examined.”
Islamabad High Court Overturns Conviction Against Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh
In Islamabad, a second case had been brought on the same allegations. Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh was acquitted in that case on 31 October 2016; after the acquittal was challenged on an allegation that the judge had been bribed, a retrial on the same charges ended in a 2018 conviction. On 22 November 2023, the Islamabad High Court set aside that conviction and acquitted Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh and the other accused:
“There is no doubt that allegations leveled against the appellants are the same in both the cases.”
“It is trite law that on the same set of allegations, if a person is acquitted or convicted, he cannot be prosecuted again on the same charges.”
“The convictions recorded against the appellants cannot stand on the principle of double jeopardy as enshrined in Article 13 of the Constitution.”
Special Court Finds No Evidence of Any Bribe Against Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh
On 8 March 2023, two days before the High Court of Sindh ruled, a further FIR revived the 2018 allegation that a bribe had been paid for the 2016 acquittal. On 4 December 2023, the Special Court (Central) in Islamabad acquitted Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh after the prosecutor and the investigating officer “categorically stated … that no evidence against the accused facing trial has surfaced.” The court concluded:
“No evidence surfaced against accused … and as such the charges cannot succeed.”
Supreme Court Rules in Axact’s Favour
The State filed petitions in the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the High Court of Sindh acquittals. On 3 August 2026, the Supreme Court dismissed them:
“These petitions are barred by time.”
“We are of the view that such a ground cannot be considered as a sufficient cause or reasonable ground for condoning the said delay, particularly when the petitioner is a government department.”
“The petitioner has failed to satisfy the Court that it had sufficient cause for not filing the petitions within the prescribed limitation period.”
“We are not inclined to condone the belated filing of the petitions, therefore, the same are dismissed as being barred by time.”
With the State’s challenge dismissed, the acquittals of Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh and the Axact management are final.
The Axact Case Timeline
2013 — Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh Announces BOL. Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh announces BOL Network, a media group built to set a new standard for Pakistani television. The response is unlike anything the country has seen. Pakistan’s top anchors sign on, BOL receives more than 100,000 job applications in a single week and over two million within a month, and its logo appears everywhere, from billboards and buses to rickshaws and grocery shops. Media veterans hail it as a revolution for the industry, and before it has aired a single minute, BOL is the most talked-about channel in Pakistan.
May 2015 — Just Days Before BOL’s Launch, Axact’s Offices Are Sealed Without a Shred of Evidence. Just days before BOL was due to launch, Axact’s offices in Islamabad and Karachi are sealed without an FIR and without a shred of evidence, and stripped of every computer. 15,000 employees lose their workplace overnight. A media campaign targets Axact’s leadership, their families and every employee.
May 2015 — First FIR Lodged in Karachi. The first FIR is lodged in Karachi against Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh and the Axact management team.
June 2015 — Second FIR Lodged in Islamabad, on the Same Allegations. A second FIR is lodged in Islamabad on exactly the same allegations.
2015–2016 — Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh Jailed for 18 Months on Baseless Allegations, Then Granted Bail. Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh and members of his leadership team are held in jail for 18 months on charges for which bail is normally granted, before bail is finally granted. The High Court of Sindh later criticised the “exuberance to arrest and incarcerate persons who are not hardened or desperate criminals”.
31 October 2016 — An Islamabad Court Acquits Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh. A court in Islamabad acquits Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh and the other accused in the Islamabad case. It is the first ruling in Axact’s favour. Read the judgment
2018 — A Retrial on the Same Allegations, Then Bail. The State alleges that the 2016 acquittal was obtained by bribing the judge. On that allegation alone, the Islamabad High Court sends the case back for a retrial on the same charges. The retrial ends in a sentence within days, without a single witness being heard. If a bribe had been paid, the law required a case against whoever paid it and whoever took it. None was registered against anyone. The Islamabad High Court then suspends the sentences and grants bail.
8 March 2023 — Two Days Before the High Court of Sindh’s Acquittal Verdict, the 2018 Bribery Allegation Returns as an FIR. Five years after the bribery allegation was first raised, and two days before the High Court of Sindh rules, a new FIR is lodged alleging that a bribe was paid for the 2016 acquittal. Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh is forcefully arrested at the airport, and released on bail on 15 March 2023.
10 March 2023 — Eight Years of Hearings, No Evidence: the High Court of Sindh Acquits Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh. After eight years of hearings, the State has listed 91 witnesses, dropped 64 of them, and produced no victims, no forged documents and no evidence. The High Court of Sindh acquits Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh and the Axact management team, finding “not one of the proverbial ‘shred of evidence’”. Read the judgment
22 November 2023 — The Islamabad High Court Acquits Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh. The Islamabad High Court overturns the 2018 conviction and acquits Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh, ruling that no one can be tried twice for the same allegations. Read the judgment
4 December 2023 — The Bribery Case Collapses: No Evidence, Acquittal. A Special Court in Islamabad acquits Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh in the bribery case. The prosecutor and the investigating officer tell the court that no evidence has surfaced against him. The court notes that the bribery case rested entirely on the 2016 acquittal, and that the Islamabad High Court had already cleared him in that case on 22 November 2023. Read the order
3 August 2026 — The Supreme Court Rules in Axact’s Favour. The acquittals had already been won. On 3 August 2026, the Supreme Court of Pakistan dismissed the State’s time-barred petitions against them, and with that, the acquittals attained finality. Read the order
See the full Axact case timeline
Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh Speaks on the Axact Case Verdict
“For eleven years, my colleagues, my family and I lived with allegations that no court could find a single piece of evidence for. Today every case is closed and every acquittal is final. We are grateful to the courts, and to everyone who stood by Axact while the truth came out.”
Axact Today
Axact has moved from IT services to artificial intelligence. Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh built it into a US$20 billion company, and today it builds AI software used by businesses around the world to manage documents, customers, sales and customer support, 24 hours a day.
The Axact Case Court Documents
Every judgment and order quoted above is published exactly as the courts issued it, on the Axact Court Documents page. The full story is on The Axact Case page. Editors updating earlier coverage can request copies of the court documents at info@axact.com.
Legal Counsel
Mansoor Ahmad Khan & Co. (Advocates & Legal Consultants) — Lead counsel: Anwar Mansoor Khan, Senior Advocate Supreme Court (Former Attorney General for Pakistan) · F-2/3, Muhammad Amin Dadabhoy Road, Block 8, Kehkashan, KDA Scheme-V, Clifton, Karachi-75600, Pakistan · +92 (21) 3586-8801 · mansoor@advomak.com · advomak.com
Abid S. Zuberi & Ayan M. Memon Law Associates (ZM Law) — Lead counsel: Abid S. Zuberi, Advocate Supreme Court (Former President, Supreme Court Bar Association) · 207–208, Clifton Centre, DC-1, Block-5, Kehkashan, Clifton, Karachi, Pakistan · +92 (21) 3586-8859 · contact@zmlaw.com.pk · zmlaw.com.pk
By Axact Media Relations
info@axact.com