6 Senior Officials from Patari Including Interim CEO Resign – Patari Responds

Patari the leading music streaming giant of Pakistan is in trouble again. In April 2018 Patari’s CEO, Khalid Bajwa was asked to step down following harassment accusations against him. Ahmer Naqvi was appointed as interim CEO of Patari.

Now Ahmer Naqvi has resigned from Patari along with 5 other members who claim that Khalid Bajwa was still running the company despite his resignation.

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Ahmer Naqvi, in a Facebook post, said, “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.”

Adding, “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. An audit began to assess the allegations against Khalid Bajwa, and this opportunity allowed for greater self-reflection on the company’s structure and processes.”

Ahmer said that while they waited for the audit report, there was no trust left within the company.

Ahmer informed, “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. During this time, Mr. Bajwa, who was asked to take leave from company matters while the audit proceeded, continued to operate with external partners as representing the company. An internal meeting made clear that some of the co-founders thought Mr. Bajwa had been unfairly victimized, and that further there was no room for many employees, including many of the undersigned, to remain in the company.”

The six members who are leaving Patari are Ahmer Naqvi, Mahwish Bhatti, Aiman Farhan, Fariha Awan, Shahan Shahid, and Sarah Fatima.

Every organization goes through internal politics, but taking a stand for your values, speaking up against the unjust system within an organization, requires courage. And that is what these 6 ex-Patari workers have shown.

Patari has responded through a Facebook post and tweet. here is the response by Patari.

Patari said, “This company statement is for immediate release with a more comprehensive statement to follow.

After a two month audit and negotiation between Co-founders and principal investor:

1. Rabeel Warraich is announced as interim CEO with immediate affect 
2. Khalid Bajwa removed as Board member and from any role with Patari
3. Audit concludes with full recommendations to be implemented by a reconstituted Board, with Co-founders agreeing to abstain from voting
4. Patari has zero tolerance for abuse of power, sexual harrassment and for creation of toxic culture
5. Thorough process will be followed to redress all serious allegations.”