• The other side of this story speaks volumes of lack of empathy in social media users in Pakistan

• The viral video on social media has actually painted a wrong picture of the incident as no one was knowing facts

Usman Gohar may not be innocent but he wasn’t harassing the woman. This may come as a surprising fact. However, this is the truthful side of the picture. The social media hype actually brought out an old story of early 2020 to limelight. The background review from FactFile tells a different tale.

So, let us put the facts here. Usman is a married man with four children, his oldest daughter is in the fifth grade. He lives with his wife and children in suburbs of Islamabad. He is the sole bread winner in the house.

The lady (name withheld) seen in the video is his long-time colleague. The lady is also married. The disturbing part is that both of them were having an affair for a long time. In fact, their affair was quite famous within the banking circle. The couple would often share written love notes to each other. The couple was normally driving out together during and after office hours.

Real Story of Banker Usman Gohar

So, here is the story: Usman was given a raise as RVP almost a year ago. Thus, he was leading several operations in the bank. And as their affair was known, the junior officers were able to get this video recorded in early 2020. But, this video was only circulating amongst the 3-4 people group within the bank staff. They were of the view that the privacy of Usman Gohar and the lady is essential as it would severely damage their reputation, as well as, the bank’s. However, Usman was unaware of this video’s presence with his junior staff.

On Friday, 6th November, there was quite a pressure of work in the bank. However, one of his staff left the office without informing him. At this, Usman called him and was quite harsh as to why he had left without informing. The bankers know of the pressures at these moments and often have to spend time in office till late evenings.

Usman’s junior staff, though, wasn’t ready for harsh words. At hearing these harsh words, Usman’s junior allegedly leaked this video as a revenge.

Now, if we define harassment, it is not mutual and someone is using their position to get intimate. However, in this case, the couple was having a long term affair since they were colleagues.

Moreover, the district administration was also wrong in assessing the case. They immediately sent police to his home and got him arrested. It was taken up as a case of harassment due to social media hype only.

This was quite a scenario as his family is now under duress. His children, especially daughters, are unable to go out or meet anyone. The reputation of Usman Gohar is also completely destroyed. Further, it also threatens the personal life of the female colleague.

All this was done as a revenge by one his junior officers to settle score. Otherwise, this was a mutually agreed relationship between two employees of the bank. This may be termed immoral, non-religious or against the societal terms. Yet, it is not a case of harassment.

Further, one major aspect where Usman and the lady were wrong was the bank’s premises. This was definitely a wrong move as no employer allows intimate relationships in the office environment.