What is the current status of your lawsuit against Hameed Haroon and what is the probable future of it?
Things have come to a halt owing to the ongoing pandemic, so there has been no success up until now. Once we get rid of it, the proceedings will begin and I will make sure that I visit the court whenever required.
One of your major concerns has been the role of the media in not following up your case. Apart from the coverage of the incident, what do you demand from the media?
It isn’t about Jami versus Hameed Haroon. It’s a #metoo slogan raised by another victim of sexual abuse. What has left me disappointed is that my friends from the leftist progressive groups, who otherwise raise voice in support of all victims of harassment, have chosen to remain silent in my case. What I haven’t been able to understand is the absence of outrage when it has come to their friend although these people constitute a major portion of our media, I believe.
The maximum media can do is to cover the incident and respect your stance, while it is the court which has to give the final verdict. What role do you think the media can play other than this?
I want the inquiry to begin. What happens in the court is fine, but the promise which was made to me regarding the inquiry was made by Dawn itself. There is complete silence from Dawn’s team and the other media groups as well, and this silence in the case of sexual abuse will not remain confined to me. The attitude will trickle down and affect every man or woman who will come up with such a case.
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Many are of the view that your accusation was timed in the sense that you spoke up when Dawn was already under fire for a lot of other reasons, which has led people to believe that that you misused the already critical situation of the news organization. How would you defend yourself against such claims?
I stayed in touch with many journalists. I haven’t shown any sign of being scared. All of my formal meetings, in this case, especially the one with ISI, have been recorded by me and posted on Twitter. I cannot be more ethical and honest than this. I have said it time and again that it is not me versus Dawn. I am not against Dawn at all, but against abuse, and I was inclined to take this step when #metoo had started giving me some hope. Sadly, many journalists joined hands to backstab the entire movement by saying that I am with the establishment and my objective is to bring Dawn down from its respectable position. One senior journalist-editor knows everything about my case, including the fact that I am not with the army, yet he does not talk about it. If this isn’t a cover-up, what is? He knows quite clearly that I am not interested in holding any enmity against Dawn, yet chooses to remain quiet.
Have you ever been called for the purpose of inquiry by Dawn?
No! I haven’t been called even once. No step has been taken in this regard, either through a telephonic connection or through a meeting in person. There has been complete silence!