US drones will be shot down, promises Imran Khan

Imran Khan has promised to order the Pakistan air force to shoot down American drones if he takes power in a general election due in the first half of next year.

The former national cricket captain is to lead peace activists into the country's lawless tribal belt on Saturday to publicise the human toll of the CIA's covert programme of missile strikes.

He has emerged as a serious contender for power after a decade-and-a-half in the political wilderness since retiring from sport, and is now one of the country's most outspoken critics of America's use of unmanned aircraft.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said the attacks were pushing young men into the arms of Taliban recruiters.

"It is totally counterproductive," he said. "The [idea] that it is only killing al-Qaeda is a myth. The vast majority of people killed are either innocent civilians or some sort of low-level militants."

This weekend Mr Khan is planning to lead peace activists on a 300-mile, two-day trip to South Waziristan, scene of dozens of drone strikes, to draw world attention to the plight of civilian populations living in fear of the drones.

Activists travelling with him have secured a guarantee from US embassy officials that they will not be targeted. Mr Khan is due to be accompanied by hundreds of peace activists, including Cherie Blair's half-sister Lauren Booth.

Mr Khan accused Pakistan's government of condemning the attacks in public, while privately giving US commanders the go-ahead to launch strikes in the tribal belt.

Data collected by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism suggest that between 474 and 881 civilians have died in strikes since 2004.