US told to halt Pakistan strikes

THE US commander running the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, held talks yesterday with Pakistani leaders who told him to stop US strikes on militants in Pakistani territory.

Petraeus arrived in Pakistan on Sunday, at the beginning of his first foreign tour since taking charge of US Central Command, highlighting US concern about a country seen as crucial to stability in Afghanistan and to defeating al-Qaida.

US analysts say Pakistan is facing a major threat from Islamist militants at a time when the nuclear-armed nation and its new civilian government are engulfed in extraordinarily difficult economic problems.