Sources said now the matter remains between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, which had taken Shamsi base for hunting of Bustard, in 1992. Later, it was handed over to CIA.

Sources said, Pakistan and the UAE will shortly discuss the matter on various levels to resolve the issue.

The US shifted its drone operation bases from Shamsi to Afghanistan, sources told Arab News. The decision by the US came as domestic pressure in Pakistan gained momentum against presence of the bases in the country.

Earlier, Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar's had said that the US had been asked to vacate Shamsi Air Base.

According to the sources, the CIA, which has been using Shamsi Air Base in Pakistan since 2004, had to develop other sources, largely based in Afghanistan, to carry out its drone operations targeting Al-Qaeda and its affiliates are allegedly using sanctuaries in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Pakistan had asked US to vacate Shamsi Air Base shortly after the arrest of CIA operative Raymond Davis, and since then CIA is primarily using Afghan soil to execute its drone operations, the sources said.