6 resign as they were no longer able to work freely at Patari

Local music streaming giant, Patari’s interim CEO, Ahmer Naqvi, has resigned along with five more members. Ahmer had taken over co-founder Khalid Bajwa’s position after he was asked to step down following accusations of sexual harassment.

Ahmer took to social media on Sunday night to announce that he and five members of Patari’s top management had decided to resign as they were no longer able to work freely.

“It is with great sadness that we, the undersigned, resign from Patari. It is a company where we can no longer work freely under the values that brought us to it – and which are now under threat. Earlier this year, the emergence of harassment allegations against Khalid Mubasher Bajwa led to him stepping down as CEO. We acted swiftly to keep the company afloat, and to protect its moral standing,” Ahmer wrote.

“While we waited for this audit to complete, all trust within the company was destroyed. Members of the company’s leadership, namely Mr Bajwa along with co-founders Faisal Sherjan and Humayun Haroon, violated the company’s governance, undermined ongoing projects, and threatened the roles of the company’s management.”

Ahmer also reported that Khalid continued to represent Patari even after he was asked to step down and that some of the co-founders still believe he was being unfairly victimised.

“An internal meeting made clear that some of the co-founders thought Mr Bajwa had been unfairly victimised, and that there was no room for some employees, including many of the undersigned, to remain in the company.”

“We would like to thank everyone that supported Patari and us, and despite this all, we will hold on to the love you sent our way,” concluded Ahmer Naqvi, Mahwish Bhatti, Aiman Farhan, Fariha Awan, Shahan Shahid and Sarah Fatima.

Following Ahmer’s announcement, Patari released a statement denying that Khalid was reinstated as the CEO:

“Patari has zero tolerance for abuse of power, sexual harrassment and for creation of toxic culture,” it stated.