Imran Khan's anti-drone protest falls short of destination He just came to show that he could go but he is also afraid. The former Pakistani cricket captain has become one of the country's most outspoken opponent of US drones. He argues that civilian deaths are more numerous than the American authorities admit and that the air strikes are turning young men into angry Jihadis. His Movement for Justice political party has also gained ground after years in the wilderness and analysts believe elections due early next year will mark a breakthrough, establishing Khan as a new force in the country - but falling short of the electoral "tsunami" he predicts. A convoy of about 150 cars, buses and motorbikes set out from Islamabad on Saturday morning with Khan as its Pied Piper. They faced the threat of al-Qaeda attacks and the suspicion that Pakistan's powerful security forces would call a halt. Along the way, Khan addressed rallies as the ranks of supporters grew in a jolting, beeping, flag-festooned crocodile tracing a route south-west from the capital. After spending a night in the town of Dera Ismail Khan, the procession set out yesterday through a dusty landscape of acacia trees and dry riverbeds for Kotkai, in South Waziristan itself. It was all too much for a party of peace activists from the US. They had endured a tough first day. The 30 or so middle aged women of Code Pink struggled to manage the 14-hour journey with only two toilet breaks. At one point their driver briefly lost his bearing in an area generally too dangerous for foreigners to visit. On Sunday, they decided enough was enough when news filtered through that the road to Kotkai had been closed by local authorities, citing the threat of snipers and suicide bombers. Medea Benjamin, said they had achieved their aims with a rally on Sunday morning when they also met local people whose families had lost members to drone strikes. "So after that we decided to head back rather than put ourselves into a chaotic situation," she said. In fact, the convoy, which had swollen to more than 350 packed vehicles, made slow but steady progress. Shipping containers placed across the road as barricades were shunted aside by dozens of eager hands. At one point, a protester smashed his way into the cab of a container truck. He released the handbrake freeing it to roll off the road, demolishing a tiny, brick-built store. Clive Stafford Smith, of the death penalty campaign group Reprieve, said the obstructions illustrated the opposition of Pakistan's government to peace efforts. "I am 100% happy to go into Waziristan," he said. I don't really appreciate Big Brother telling me I can't do it. Onlookers cheered and waved as the procession arrived in tumbledown villages. Few politicians bother to visit this remote, undeveloped corner of Pakistan, where minarets and the chimneys of brick kilns were the tallest structures for miles around. But in the end the noisy journey came to a halt with barely a whimper. Confused drivers pulled off the road and performed U-turns among ditches and thorns as text messages spread the word that Khan's party high command had called off the drive. Nearby, a whitewashed milestone pointed the way to Angoor Ada, some 110 miles distant, a town picked out frequently by CIA Reaper and Predator drones. The procession returned from the direction they had come for one last rally outside the town of Tank. Khan addressed about 4000 of his supporters from the back of a truck, as the sun sank into a dust-filled sky. Drones are anti human-rights. They are against international law," he roared wearing a traditional golden turban. We want to convey the message to America - if you send drones, the people will hate more. Minutes later he sent The Daily Telegraph an apologetic message explaining that delays caused by roadblocks meant the convoy risked getting caught after dark in the bandit country of South Waziristan. "Could not take that risk with foreigners and women," he said. The army told us there was a genuine threat. In Pakistan - where military matters are always opaque - the conspiracy theories began circulating last night. The threats were nothing more than a chance to silence government opposition, or they were a convenient excuse for Khan to back down from a confrontation, depending on whom you believe.