WASHINGTON, Feb 28: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a Senate panel on Tuesday that the United States was winding down the war in Afghanistan but wanted to maintain a challenging but crucial relationship with Pakistan.

In her opening remarks before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, she noted that the State Department and USAID were requesting $51.6 billion for their programmes in the next fiscal year, which begins in October 2012.

“Our request allows us to sustain our vital national security missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and reflects the temporary extraordinary costs of operating on the front lines,” she observed.

Secretary Clinton said that as the tide of war in Afghanistan and Iraq was receding, US troops were coming home, but this had further enhanced the importance of US diplomatic and development missions.

In Afghanistan, she noted, despite last week’s violence, triggered by the burning of Holy Quran, the United States was moving towards transferring responsibilities to Afghan authorities. “This year’s request will support the ongoing transition, helping Afghans take responsibility for their own future and ensure their country is never again a safe haven for terrorists who can target us,” she said.

“Next door, we have a challenging but critical relationship with Pakistan, and we remain committed to working on issues of joint interest, including counter-terrorism, economic stability and regional cooperation.”

She pointed out that from Arab revolutions to the rise of new economic powers, the world was changing rapidly. Even Al Qaeda, she noted, was transforming itself into “a more dispersed but still dangerous” terrorist threat.