ROME: The US relationship with Pakistan is not always easy but has been productive for both sides, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday, after the killing of Osama bin Laden raised questions about the alliance.

The discovery that the al Qaeda leader was able to live for years in the military garrison town of Abbottabad, just north of the Pakistani capital, has raised doubt in the United States about whether Pakistan was a reliable ally against militants.

Clinton acknowledged that Washington's relationship with Islamabad was awkward at times, but said it was still important.

“It is not always an easy relationship, you know that,” Clinton said, ahead of a meeting in Rome.

“But on the other hand it is a productive one for both our countries and we are going to continue to cooperate between our governments, our militaries, our law-enforcement agencies but most importantly between the American and Pakistani people.”

Pakistani officials say they are committed to fighting extremism and Pakistan has suffered at the hands of militants as much as any country.

Clinton declined to comment on details of the special forces operation in which bin Laden was killed in Pakistan on Sunday.

US officials initially said bin Laden was armed but later said he was not, raising concern among some Europeans over whether his killing was lawful.

Uprisings against authoritarian rulers across the Middle East and North Africa showed that bin Laden's ideas were being rejected, Clinton said.

“His ideology of hatred and violence is thankfully being rejected in what we see going on in the Middle East and North Africa as people are protesting largely peacefully for a better future.”