ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Anger intensified in Pakistan over the timing of a visit by two U.S. envoys last month, who landed even before foes of U.S.-backed President Pervez Musharraf could name a new Cabinet. Newspaper editorials decried the visit as American “meddling” and said it was ill-timed. Protesters in at least three cities waved banners demanding the envoys go home.
Meanwhile, an American newspaper reported that a recent increase in U.S. airstrikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas was because of U.S. worries that the new government would scale back military operations in the area.
Such strikes killed at least 25 people last month, leading to anger over civilian casualties in the region, where Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida operatives could be hiding.
Washington has been scrambling to build bridges with Pakistan’s new leaders, who routed Musharraf loyalists in parliamentary elections in February partly because of popular anger over the president’s alliance with the U.S. in the war on terror.
The new government has pledged to review Musharraf’s American-backed counterterrorism policies. Already, partners in the new government have said they would negotiate with some militant groups — an approach that has drawn criticism from Washington, which has provided about $10 billion in aid to Pakistan since 2001.