NEW YORK - Pakistan is to renew its bid to seek a civilian nuclear deal similar to one the US concluded with India at the top-level strategic dialogue between the two countries next week, a major American newspaper reported Thursday, citing Pakistani officials. The Wall Street Journal said that the Pakistani move threatens to further strain relations that are already tense over Islamabads refusal to attack Taliban havens on its soil - obviously referring to the Haqqani group in North Waziristan. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is scheduled to hold the dialogue with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington on October 22. Islamabad views a civilian nuclear deal with the US as a key compromise to show Pakistan is on a level with its rival India in the eyes of the US. Such a deal would assuage fears here that Washington has any intention of dismantling Pakistans nuclear programme, the Journal said in a dispatch from Pakistans capital. The US is unlikely to give in to the demands, Pakistan officials acknowledge, adding a further level of mistrust to a relationship already bedevilled by frustration in Washington over Pakistans failure to crack down on Taliban militants that attack US troops over the border in Afghanistan. The Wall Street Journal said Washington was concerned about Pakistans previous history of proliferation and continued ramping up of its military nuclear arsenal, which it is developing as a deterrent to India, possibly with Chinese aid. The dispatch pointed out that US had turned down Pakistans requests for a civilian nuclear deal in the past. The US, according to the newspaper, views next weeks talks as key to getting Pakistan to move against militancy in return for billions of dollars in civilian and military aid. Help with civilian nuclear power, a role China currently fulfils, could help improve ties, some analysts say. It will be the third such meeting since March, underscoring the pivotal role relations with Pakistan plays in US foreign policy. A US official said the issue wasnt on the official agenda for the meeting but could easily be raised.