Rauf Klasra narrates how false cyber allegations in Layyah forced him to seek legal action to protect his reputation and safety, saying silence would have only misled people and endangered his life.
WEBDESK – MediaBites – January 20, 2026
I have always tried to treat the people of my hometown, Layyah, with love, respect, and dignity. For me, simply being associated with Layyah has always been an honor. No one in the police department or the DC office there can say that I ever visited them for transfers, postings, or to influence any matter. I have helped people where I could, but I never created difficulties for anyone. I tried to make things easier, not harder.
As a public-facing individual, caution is part of daily life. Even then, someone inevitably comes along and clings to your leg as you pass by. This time, the incident crossed a line.
Recently, a man from Layyah, a Syed, posted a deeply disturbing message about me on social media. Criticism is something I can live with. Even abuse, sadly, has become something one learns to tolerate. What I cannot tolerate is being branded a traitor or a foreign agent. That is non-negotiable. This land is ours, and it is in this soil that we will eventually be buried.
The post accused me of insulting Iranian leadership, writing obscenely about them, and conspiring as an agent of two or three foreign countries. Other Syeds piled on in the comments, hurling abuse. A few tried to stop it and were abused themselves.
Normally, I avoid taking extreme steps. But when someone issues what is effectively a religious verdict against you, especially at a time when Iran’s situation is sensitive, ignoring it becomes dangerous. Extremists exist in every sect. I travel to Layyah frequently. I have dozens of Syed friends and thousands of readers and viewers. What were they supposed to think? That I was openly insulting Iranian leadership?
The truth is simple. I have never written a column, posted a tweet, recorded a vlog or spoken in any Facebook space about Iranian leadership. I understand the sensitivity. Millions here hold Iranian leaders in spiritual reverence. I have always respected that. Yet this man took a report originally published by The New York Times, a widely circulated international news story about potential unrest in Iran and possible contingency plans, a story that Pakistani media also reported, and falsely attached it to my name. Then he declared a verdict against me on Facebook.
When thousands are misled, silence becomes a crime. I approached the FIA because not a single person asked him for proof. No one questioned when or where I had allegedly said these things. No evidence was demanded. Only abuse flowed freely.
Now, that man has been arrested, and legal proceedings are underway. Suddenly, he has no shortage of supporters. They say he is a “masoom insan,” an innocent soul, overcome by love for the Iranian leadership. They ask me not to take it seriously.
My response has remained consistent. Produce the material. Show where I said any of this. One may accept that he is “innocent,” but that innocence destroyed my image, endangered my life, and branded me a traitor.
Some even said my image in Layyah is being damaged because of this legal action. I wonder, was my image improving when I was being called an Iranian agent and a traitor? And now it is deteriorating because I sought legal protection?
These are not easy decisions. But some decisions are necessary, no matter how heavy the heart. Laws and courts exist for a reason. I trust that the courts will now be shown my writings, my statements, my vlogs, the very evidence on which this so-called innocent man declared me an agent.
Today, all of Layyah seems sympathetic to him, not to the person whose honor, safety, and credibility were put at risk.
It hurts. After a lifetime spent in love with my people and my land, every sharp and painful stone that struck me came from the same air I once believed would always protect me.
As the poet said:
دیکھا جو کھا کے تیر کمیں گاہ کی طرف
اپنے ہی دوستوں سے ملاقات ہوگئی
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