NORTH WAZIRISTAN: All routes in North Waziristan district reopened on Tuesday after successful talks between the government and local elders led to the end of a weeklong sit-in against an alleged drone strike in the restive region.

According to Mufti Baitullah, a leader of the protesters, both parties agreed on several points during the peace talks, including the formation of a neutral committee to investigate the Hormuz village tragedy, in which four children were martyred and their mother sustained injuries.

Both sides, he said, also agreed that the law enforcement agencies would refrain from using drones, surveillance cameras or mortar shelling on the local population, while all affected families would receive financial assistance.

The two sides also agreed that int­­ernet services in the region wou­ld be restored immediately , he added.

Jirgas on curfew

Mufti Baitullah said the two sides had also agreed that jirgas would be held to pursue the release of Malik Akbar Khan, the withdrawal of the military from Mir Ali hospital, and the lifting of the ongoing curfew in the region.

He said that an agreement was also reached to immediately transfer one officer from the district.

In case of any violation of the agreement, he said, the protesters would force the closure of all companies working in North Waziristan to extract natural resources.

The grieving villager, Shafat Mohammad, whose four innocent children were killed in the alleged drone strike, said: “Is the price of my children’s lives just a report? Even if an inquiry is held, will it bring my children back? At the very least, this injustice should not happen to any other parent.”

A local elder said, “We have sacrificed a lot; now we want justice, security, and development — our wounds won’t heal with words but with action.”

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2025