PESHAWAR: A preliminary investigation has revealed the “involvement of Indian-sponsored terrorists” in a recent quadcopter munitions drop in the North Waziristan tribal district, said the military’s media wing.

On Monday, a daytime drone strike in Hurmuz village of Mirali tehsil killed four children of a family and injured five people, including a woman.

Residents placed bodies on a local road and staged a protest sit-in against the killings. Provincial relief minister Naik Mohammad Dawar said in a social media message that the quadcopter attack was a crime against humanity and deaths of innocent children would not go to waste.

“We will raise voice against the strike at every platform and will make all-out efforts to ensure punishment of the culprits,” he said.

On Wednesday, the military’s media wing said that as the quadcopter attack resulted in civilian casualties, certain quarters “falsely implicated” Pakistan’s security forces in the incident through “unfounded and misleading allegations.”

“These claims are entirely baseless and are part of a coordinated disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting the security forces’ steadfast efforts in the ongoing counterterrorism operations,” the ISPR said in the statement.

It said that in response to accusations, a comprehensive investigation was promptly initiated whose initial findings “established” that the heinous act was orchestrated and executed by Indian-sponsored terrorists.

“It is evident that these elements, acting at the behest of their Indian masters, continue to exploit civilian areas and vulnerable populations as shields to conduct their reprehensible acts of terrorism,” it said.

The ISPR added that such tactics aimed to unsuccessfully sow discord between the local population and the security forces who together remained committed to eliminating terrorism.

It said the security forces reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that the perpetrators of the inhuman act are brought to justice.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2025