Lieutenant General Martin E Dempsey (left), acting Commander of US Central Command, with Pakistan's Chairman Joint Chiefs Of Staff Committee, General Tariq Majid, in Rawalpindi yesterday. (EPA)

islamabad • Repeated US missile strikes in Pakistan could harm relations between the two countries, a top Pakistani military officer told a visiting US commander yesterday, a statement said.

The warning by General Tariq Majid, chairman of Pakistan's joint chiefs of staff, to Lieutenant General Martin Dempsey, head of US Central Command, came hours after a suspected US missile strike in Pakistan's tribal belt.

"Expressing concern over repeated cross-border missile attacks/firing by coalition and Afghan forces, General Tariq said that our sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected," a Pakistani military statement said.

"Any violation in this regard could be detrimental to bilateral relations," it said.

Majid "also reemphasised that Pakistan armed forces are capable of handling any challenges to our security."

Pakistani officials said a suspected missile strike by US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan early yesterday had killed three foreign militants and three boys in the South Waziristan tribal region.

The United States has stepped up missile attacks in Pakistan in recent months in response to a surge in violence in parts of Afghanistan bordering Pakistan. Fears have also grown in Pakistan of a possible US offensive in the tribal areas.

Rising violence in Afghanistan has meanwhile, prompted harsh words from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who accused Pakistani intelligence of orchestrating an attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul earlier this month.

Pakistan's Majid said the "baseless allegations against Pakistan could affect mutual trust and would definitely influence our efforts in the war against terror."