US envoys' visit protested

Outrage intensified in Pakistan yesterday over the timing of a visit by two senior American envoys who landed even before the new Cabinet is formed.

Newspaper editorials decried the visit as American "meddling" and said it was ill-timed. Protesters in at least three cities burned US flags and waved banners demanding the envoys go home.

Meanwhile, an American newspaper reported that a recent increase in US airstrikes in Pakistan's tribal areas was a result of US worries that the new government would scale back military operations in the area.