Patari CEO steps down following harassment allegations

The chief executive of Pakistani music-streaming service Patari has resigned from his post after two women alleged he harassed them.

Khalid Bajwa resigned from his post on Wednesday after the women took to Twitter to share conversations they had had with the Patari CEO, claiming he harassed them on multiple occasions.

“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.

Stating that an investigation had already been underway about prior allegations, the company said it was “deeply saddened" over the matter.

“This is a difficult decision but Patari stands with the victims of harassment and will do everything in its power to ensure that it stands by them,” the statement added.

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.

"I shut up about it for the longest but I guess the time is right. I have no personal vendetta because I wasn’t stupid enough to meet him alone despite him asking me a billion times.

"I just don’t want him to keep preying on young girls," she added.

Zainab, another woman who experienced harassment, also took to Twitter to share conversations she had with Bajwa, accusing him of similar misconduct.

She claimed she was 17 years old when Bajwa "used to force me to meet him literally. He would make plans that he’d pick me up from my college and take me to his office".

She said Bajwa was ten years older than her at the time.

"He used to force me to tell him where I live so he could come over," she said, sharing screenshots of personal messages between the two. 

"After I blocked him he had the audacity to come back and message me on instagram. He begged me not to expose him for the sake of his daughter and wife," she tweeted.