ISLAMABAD: A software company facing charges of selling fake degrees requested the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for the swift disposal of the trial proceedings pending before a local court.

Chief Justice of the IHC, Mohammad Anwar Khan Kasi, on Monday issued notices to the FIA on the application of the vice-chairman and chief operating officer of Axact, seeking the conclusion of the trial within a month.

Petitioner Waqas Atique, who is at present confined in the Central Jail Karachi, nominated the additional sessions judge (West) Islamabad and the state as respondents. The petitioner contended that he had been behind bars since 2014 and his bail application was dismissed by the IHC on May 18, 2016.

He alleged that the prosecution was showing lethargic attitude toward the trial of the case. `The case is motivated and registered by dishonest business rivals who could not compete with the petitioner in business and opted to bulldoze them through blind escape machinery and FIA was a tool, the petition stated.

It may be mentioned that the FIA registered the case against the chairman, the chief operating officer as well as several officials of the company on account of selling fake degrees. The case was registered against the software company at a time when its owner was ready to launch a television channel which he claimed would be the largest media network in the country.

The petition added that as per the high court rules, the trial of criminal cases was conducted on a day-to-day basis and there was no concept of adjournment except in rare circumstances.

The petitioner requested the court to direct the additional sessions judge (West) to conclude the trial within a month.

The FIA in its challan submitted to the court stated that Axact under the garb of information technology was involved in defrauding money on the pretext of providing online educational degrees/diplomas/certificates.

The company had created online bogus universities, bogus accreditation and impersonating as education counselors the US state department officials, staff members of embassies and recruitment agencies by making fake calls for selling the falce degrees.

The challan alleged that the company was also involved in fake/bogus attestation of documents affixing fake signatures and stamps of US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton and John F. Kerry.

It also alleged that Axact was involved in establishing fake companies for money laundering from the proceeds of the fake online degrees. Under these allegations, the FIA registered the FIR on June 7, 2015, with its cyber crime circle, Islamabad.