Pakistan protest march halted

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SOUTH WAZIRISTAN, Pakistan, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Police in Pakistan stopped a protest march against U.S. drone strikes from entering South Waziristan because cars in the rally didn't have proper certification.

The local administration halted the two-day march of about 1,000 people Sunday because cars did not have No Objection Certificates, Geo News reported Sunday.

The group of protesters was expected to hold a public meeting in Jahaz Ground about the rally.

Demonstrators left the capital Islamabad Saturday morning destined for Kotkai in South Waziristan, Dawn News reported.

Kotkai, in the northwest tribal region, is the hometown of Qari Hussain, who is said to have been killed in a drone strike in 2010. He was the main trainer of Taliban suicide bombers in Pakistan.

The march was organized by Imran Khan, chief of Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI), considered to be a centrist progressive political party said to be the fastest growing in Pakistan.

A report commissioned by Reprieve, Stanford Law School and the New York University School of Law last month estimated that 474 to 881 civilians were among 2,562 to 3,325 people killed by drones in Pakistan between June 2004 and September 2012.