Imran Khan leads US drone protest in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan cricket star turned politician Imran Khan leads Western peace activists and local loyalists on a highly publicised rally to Pakistan's tribal belt on Saturday in protest against US drone strikes.

Mr Khan and his Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) or Movement for Justice party, along with 30 American anti-drone campaigners from the group Code Pink and the British head of legal lobby organisation Reprieve, Mr Clive Stafford Smith, plan to drive en masse more than 320 km from the capital Islamabad to South Waziristan.

But the government says Taleban bombers intend to attack the rally and local authorities say foreigners will not be allowed to enter Pakistan's tribal belt, considered a Taleban and Al-Qaeda stronghold on the Afghan border.

Missiles fired by unmanned US drones routinely target militants operating in the semi-autonomous area in what US officials say is a key weapon in the war on terror.