WASHINGTON, July 22: The first ever meeting between the new ISI chief and his counterpart in the CIA is likely in the last week of July or the first week of August, official and diplomatic sources told Dawn.

Reports in the US media claim that Pakistan may ask the United States to discontinue the drone strikes when the two intelligence chiefs meet. The CIA conducts the strikes and identifies the targets.

Pakistani officials said that the new ISI chief Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam had been authorised to take a firm stand on the drone issue during his talks with the CIA chief.

The sources said that Pakistan might also seek access to US drone technology, new equipment for F16s and might present a plan to phase out CIA drones altogether.

Pakistan wants the United States to stop the strikes because it says they also kill innocent civilians. The Americans reject the claim, saying that most of those killed in these strikes are militants.

The Fox News reported that Washington seems determined to reject Islamabad demands to end CIA drone strikes.