On May 9, when the public started protesting, I opened YouTube to see the situation. While watching various videos, I came across Adil Raja’s channel, and I was surprised to see that his video was being watched live by around thirty to forty thousand people.
I also started listening, and Adil Raja was sometimes hinting and sometimes openly encouraging the people to march towards military installations.
He was sitting comfortably in a safe country like Britain and showing emotionally charged young people a path where bullets could be fired and long imprisonments could happen. After that day, I reduced listening to Adil Raja and eventually completely stopped.
Now the British police are investigating Adil Raja. I heard that he has been banned from using social media. If he had been cautious in his conversations and advised the people to stay peaceful, this situation wouldn’t have arisen. The loss is that a voice in support of Imran Khan has been silenced.
Let’s look at Imran Khan’s efforts in the past year. Khan has always advocated for peaceful efforts, and whenever security forces and the public came face to face, Imran Khan stepped back. PTI’s emotional workers criticized him, but he always stuck to those principles.
Adil Raja’s story teaches us two lessons. Firstly, whenever you criticize, maintain a balanced tone. Don’t turn it into a personal matter, or else it might come back to haunt you.
Secondly, when you come across any news, investigate it thoroughly. Media friends know that they have a plethora of news, but they don’t bring it forward until it’s verified by two or three sources.
By: Mujahid Khattak