by S. MUBASHIR NOOR
PHOTO/Dawn
All of Pakistan now wants a piece of the Axact pie. Altaf Hussain, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader, demands that company CEO Shoaib Shaikh be tried for treason, while Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Ch. Nisar Ali, rues another ding to the country’s “good image.” Popular opinion suggests that Shaikh be made an example of, but the question is to what end? “Scruples” and “morals” are worthy ideals, but in the poor third-world, money always trumps philosophy. A case in point is Pakistan’s 2007 National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). This legislation pardoned, albeit temporarily, a scarcely believable 8000-plus corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. You wonder if there is an honest soul left in the country.
In 2011, the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned three Pakistani cricketers for spot-fixing, in a clear message against corruption. Yet in 2013, two Indian cricketers were indicted and sentenced for the same crime; their lust for wealth obviously exceeding the fear of getting caught. Shoaib Shaikh may be a crook, but he is also a financial genius. If convicted, Pakistan should liquidate his assets, reimburse the victims, and give Shaikh the option to work for the government, or go to jail for a very long time. Casting him into the correctional system willy-nilly would be a gross waste of talent.
There are international precedents should Pakistan choose this route, most obviously in America. Frank Abagnale.Jr, a master forger and impostor, and subject of the Hollywood film Catch Me If You Can, eventually became a Federal Bureau Of Investigation (FBI) consultant. Similarly, the U.S Department of Defense has a long history of hiring hackers to combat their ilk. As recently as March 2015, the Pentagon sought “cyber-security personnel” with “unique skills”: a codename for white-hat hackers. Pakistan has an “informal” economy almost the size of the real one, so a repurposed Shoaib Shaikh adds value in chasing white-collar crime.
Regardless of Axact’s shady nature, you have to admire the singular game-plan. From scratch, Shoaib Shaikh built an empire awe-inspiring in its villainous scope, cloaked in multilayered secrecy, and highly litigious to face down interference. Whether you are peddling a pencil or an airplane, the sales methodology is the same. Creating a multimillion dollar bottom-line takes a lot more than two-bit hustling, it takes real business skills. Also, unlike Bernie Madoff, Shaikh did not have a looting list of rich potential targets to get started.
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