Locals in North Waziristan’s Mir Ali district continued their sit-in on Sunday for the seventh day, protesting against a suspected drone strike in the district — that they say is responsible for the death of four children — vowing to launch a long march to Islamabad if their demands were not met.

The suspected strike took place in Mir Ali’s Hurmuz village on May 19 during the daytime, leaving four children of the same family dead and injuring five others, including a woman. The police have held talks with tribal elders, which have so far remained inconclusive.

Earlier this week, the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), had clarified that security forces were “falsely implicated” in the incident and that it was carried out by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

According to the local elders, the sit-in near the Mir Ali cantonment area continued for the seventh day as authorities allegedly blocked all network and internet systems in the district.

The local elders threatened to cut internet cables providing connectivity to the cantonment area if the internet system and mobile signals were not restored in the rest of the district by Sunday evening.

The organisers of the sit-in issued a statement, seen by Dawn.com, seeking justice for the children who lost their lives in the incident.

“The people of Waziristan will not remain silent and will launch a long march towards Islamabad on May 26, 2025 (tomorrow), if our demands are not fulfilled,” the statement, issued by the Mir Ali sit-in committee, said.

“The long march will commence from the venue of the protest sit-in in Mir Ali, pass through Bannu Bazaar and Township Chowk, and reach Domel Highway Chowk where locals will join them. It will then march toward Karak and Kohat and others will join the procession,” the statement said.

It added that the long march will reach Peshawar where the protesters will stay the night and will be joined by people from other districts.

“The next morning, the participants will march toward Islamabad, after passing through Charsadda, Nowshera, Mardan and Swabi where other processions will join them,” it said.

The protests also laid out their demands, including “a judicial inquiry into the Mir Ali incident and punishment of the culprits; justice, protection, and state assistance to the families of the victims; and a complete end to drone attacks”, among other stipulations, according to the statement.

The statement further said that after reaching Islamabad, protesters will hold a peaceful demonstration for their demands in front of government offices and state institutions.

“We believe in peaceful protests and this long march will mark a milestone in the struggle against oppression, injustice, and silence and awaken the nation’s conscience,” the statement said.

In its statement on Wednesday, the ISPR said initial findings had established that this “heinous act has been orchestrated and executed by Indian-sponsored Fitnah Al Khwarij,” using the term the state uses to refer to the TTP.

“Following a tragic incident on May 19, 2025, in the general area of Mir Ali, North Waziristan district, which regrettably resulted in civilian casualties, unfounded and misleading allegations have been circulated by certain quarters, falsely implicating Pakistan’s security forces,” it added.

“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.”

It said that a “comprehensive investigation was promptly initiated” in response to the accusations.

“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. Such tactics aim to unsuccessfully sow discord between the local population and the security forces, who together remain resolute to uproot the menace of terrorism.”

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