Khalid Bajwa, the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of local music streaming website Patari, had to step down from the post after he found harassing women on social media.
CEO of @patarimusic #KhalidBajwa Harassing girls on Facebook Messenger. pic.twitter.com/i23sfvEO0L
— Usama Malik (@16_1O_1995) April 11, 2018
“In light of recent developments, Patari’s CEO Khalid Bajwa will be stepping down from his post with immediate effect,” the music streaming platform said in a statement shared on their social media pages. ‘Posted by’ is censored, probably Khalid Bajwa posted it himself.
Official Statement: pic.twitter.com/BBcqqXdydf
— Patari (@patarimusic) April 11, 2018
One of the women, Mehr, tweeted that Bajwa always “graced her with unwelcome hugs” and said she felt “uncomfortable and overpowered” by being hugged by someone who was twice her age. She said she stopped replying to him and blocked him on social media.
https://twitter.com/mehronnehr/status/983985174345076736
Similarly, another woman stated that she had been harassed by Patari co-founder when she was only 17 years old. In a Twitter thread, she ousted Khalid Bajwa’s antics and called him a “paedophile” and “sexual predator” who took advantage of her at a vulnerable time in life.
So almost everyone at #Patari knew about Khalid Bajwa's misconduct but they found it funny & absolutely acceptable. What a bunch of douchebags! pic.twitter.com/JII3vLK1Yy
— Ali Salman Alvi (@alisalmanalvi) April 12, 2018
Another conversation between Khalid Bajwa and Mahwish Bhatti, another Patari staff member, is circulating on twitter.
Patari have announced Ahmer Naqvi as the interim CEO and claims that it launched a full investigation into the sexual misconduct case.
Question is how can Patari take action against its co-founder and keep him away from his day to day involvements? Another authority should come forward and take action.