"We remain ready, willing and able to assist the Pakistanis and to partner with them to provide additional training, to conduct joint operations, should they desire to do so," Gates, flanked by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, said at a news conference.

The top Pentagon official said Pakistan has not requested any additional assistance as it battles an increasingly active insurgency, adding the US will respect the Musharraf government's decision on how to tackle the problem.

"We're not aware of any proposals that the Pakistanis have made to us at this point. At this point it's their nickel, and we await proposals or suggestions from them," the Defence Secretary said.

"I think that the emergence of this fairly considerable security challenge in Pakistan has really been brought home to the Pakistani government relatively recently and particularly with the tragic assassination of Mrs. Bhutto. So I think it's not particularly surprising that they have not fully thought through exactly how they intend to proceed and their strategy going forward. I expect that that will happen," Gates added.