May 26, 2025
By Kaleem Ullah
LAHORE
The sit-in against the killing of four children in a drone strike in the Hurmaz village of Mirali, North Waziristan, has been dissolved after a written agreement was signed between the protestors and civil-military administration of the district.
The sit-in had been ongoing for eight days, and protesters had placed the bodies in the demonstration, of the children – all of them under 10 years of age – who had been killed in the strikes. It ended with the help of the mediation of a jirga — comprising the faqirs (saints) of Shewa, along with some tribal elders who were not part of the sit-in, including Tribal elder Gul Ramazan, JUI-F district leader Qari Ruman, former MNA and current mayor of Miranshah Maulana Nek Zaman, and two others — met with the civil and military administration to mediate and explore a way forward.
Dr. Hayat Wazir, a member of the sit-in spoke to Voicepk.
“The jirga consisting of the saints came to them on nanawatey, bringing sheep to request the protesters to halt the march for a few days — which we agreed to as we were about to take the sit-in to Islamabad on Monday”.
In tribal traditions, through the practice of nanawatey, people forgive each other for acts as grave as murder. Furthermore, when disputes remain unresolved between two parties, elders may come forward in nanawatey with two or three animals as a gesture of peace, and it is customary for such a request not to be sent back empty-handed. This is why the saints of Sheewa approached the protest organizers in Nanawatey, seeking a brief postponement of the march. In response, the protest organizers granted them three days to negotiate with the administration.
Later that night a source privy to the negotiations told Voicepk, “There was a hope that the administration will accept the sit-in demands.”
The demands include the immediate transfer of a high-ranking official of the Mir Ali Brigade and a court-martial, should the commission’s investigation later confirm that the drone was operated by security forces, as alleged by locals. The protesters also have other demands related to restoring peace in the area, including an end to drone attacks and mortar shelling on the civilian population
Dr. Hayat Wazir added, “Yesterday, the protesters informed the jirga that they expect to receive an update on the outcome of the negotiations by Monday, 1:00 PM. As we had collectively decided earlier, if our demands are not met, we will begin our march on Monday, first to Peshawar to stage a sit-in outside the Corps Commander’s residence. If the demands remain unmet, we will then move the sit-in to Islamabad, to a place ‘where the power resides.’”
No speeches were held yesterday at the sit-in venue. Instead, the organizers spent the day finalizing plans for the long march at the same time wait for the results of the negotiations. Meanwhile, elders from other parts of the province also joined the protesters on Monday and urged them to delay the march, claiming that most of the demands had already been met in a jirga with the military officials.
The organizers of the sit-in also stated that preparations for the march were being completed, including the preservation of the children’s bodies in a way that could last for six months or more.
Following a lengthy discussion on Monday, the jirga briefed the protesters about their meeting with the military administration. They conveyed that the administration had accepted the protesters’ demands but could not provide written confirmation, insisting instead that the presence of the sit-in organizers was necessary for formal documentation.
Subsequently, the jirga, was accompanied by two representatives from each tribe of Waziristan and members of various political parties — at least 40 people in total — proceeded to meet with the administration.
After a day-long discussion on Monday with the military and civilian administration of the district, they finally agreed to meet the protesters’ demands in writing. Speaking to Voicepk, Dr. Hayat Wazir said, “They accepted our demands for restoring peace, including an end to drone attacks and mortar shelling on civilians.”
One of the Jirga members, Gul Ramazan, told Voicepk, “We played our role in the mediation between the sit-in and civil-military administration, and with the help of God and the trust of both the parties, we succeeded in it”. He further stated that most of the demands has been meet, but on a question of how hopeful he is about the implementation of the agreement, Gul Ramazan was skeptical of it and said that “there is the interest of other powers in our area that’s why unless and until serious talks didn’t take place between both the armed groups (Taliban &Military), I don’t see any hope of lasting peace in the area”
District Police officer (DPO) of North Waziristan told Voicepk.
“Different rounds of talks had taken place in which the sit-in protestor and Utmanzia Jirga showed concern over the drone attacks on civilian population to which government responded kindly that we didn’t did this attack, as now a day the Khawaraj have also this technology, it may have been done by them. However, still the deceased are our children and we had compensated them according to the government guidelines”. On the question of the removal of the military official, he said “this demand didn’t come into the discussion in the Jirga”.
Further rounds of talks are expected to take place between the military and jirga leadership to address broader security concerns, such as the weekly imposition of curfews.
Although hopeful, Dr. Hayat Wazir expressed skepticism about the implementation of the agreement by saying, “Similar agreements were made in other parts of the region in the past, but they yielded no results,” he said. “Still, we must continue our resistance — because we have no other choice.”