ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s defense minister cautioned the newly appointed head of the U.S. Central Command on Monday that launching further missile strikes in the country’s troubled tribal areas could increase tensions between the countries.Pakistani Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar issued the blunt warning to Gen. David Petraeus during his first official visit to Pakistan as head of the U.S. war in neighboring Afghanistan. Mukhtar, who also called for more coordination between the U.S. and Pakistani militaries, said the recent increase in U.S.-led cross-border strikes has created “bad blood” between the two allies.
Petraeus, who took charge of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq on Friday, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher met with Mukhtar and Pakistan’s top military officer, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani.
