Pakistan's spymaster on Wednesday left for US talks on intelligence cooperation, hoping to shore up the strategic alliance against Al-Qaeda that hit crisis point after the US killing of Osama bin Laden.

In a rare move following months of increasing acrimony between Islamabad and Washington, Pakistan said Ahmad Shuja Pasha, head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, was en route to the US for the top-level talks.

"He is going there to discuss the intelligence coordination," Pakistani army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP.

The visit comes after the United States decided to withhold a third of its annual $2.7 billion security assistance to Islamabad after Pakistan ordered dozens of military trainers out of the country after the May 2 bin Laden raid.

The cuts of $800 million reportedly include about $300 million used to reimburse Pakistan for the cost of deploying more than 100,000 soldiers along the Afghan border, a hotbed of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

On Tuesday, Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar threatened to pull back troops from the Afghan border in response, a move that would defy American demands to open new fronts in the war on Al-Qaeda and escalate tensions with Washington.

The military, however, stopped short of confirming the threat, promising only to continue to fight against terrorism "in the national interest".

Although the army spokesman refused to go into details about Pasha's talks, people in Pakistan believe it can kickstart efforts to get the testy security relationship with the United States back on track.

One security official has told AFP that Pakistan wants a "contract" with the CIA to formalise intelligence cooperation in the decade-long fight against Al-Qaeda that would safeguard against unilateral American activities.

"The agreement on both sides is there to continue (to cooperate) but having been burnt a few times, we feel it should be formalised. We need a relationship based on equality, trust and respect," the official said.

Pakistan has been adamant that there should be no more unilateral American raids, like that which killed bin Laden in the army town of Abbottabad, although the White House has reserved the right to act again if necessary.

There is also some concern in Pakistan about David Petraeus, "not considered as pro-Pakistan as others", becoming CIA director after stepping down next week as US commander on the ground in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Analysts on Wednesday interpreted Pasha's visit to Washington as a sign that Pakistan was keen to paper over some of the cracks.

"It is an attempt to defuse the situation and find the possibility of an acceptable arrangement for both sides," analyst Hasan Askari told AFP.

The talks are important, he said, because Pasha is the second most important leader in the military after army chief of staff General Ashfaq Kayani.

"The visit is designed to see how the two countries can forge better understanding on issues affecting their ties. But the complications cannot be sorted out in just one visit. There will be more rounds of talks in future."

The seemingly powerful military was humiliated by the bin Laden raid, which attracted allegations of incompetence or complicity with Al-Qaeda.

While Washington wants decisive action against terror networks, analysts warned that aid cuts would discourage Pakistan from opening fresh fronts, particularly against those considered American rather than Pakistani enemies.

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