American spy chief visits Pakistan, talks with his counterpart

CIA chief Panetta meets Pakistani counterpart

ISLAMABAD — CIA director Leon Panetta is in Pakistan for talks with the head of the country’s main spy agency.

A Pakistani intelligence officer confirmed that Panetta was meeting Wednesday with Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha.

He did not give his name in line with agency policy.

Pakistani officials say the spy chiefs are in frequent contact to coordinate cooperation in targeting al-Qaida and other militant groups.

The officials say such coordination has led to more than a hundred joint raids on militant targets by officers of Pakistan’s Inter Service Intelligence and the CIA this year.

CIA drone strikes are also at their highest level ever, with more than 20 suspected attacks on Pakistan’s lawless North Waziristan region this month.