WASHINGTON, May 12: The discovery of Osama bin Laden's hideout in Abbottabad has not affected the US desire to maintain a strong partnership with Pakistan, says the US State Department.

At a regular news briefing, the department's spokesman Mark Toner also made it clear that the Obama administration did not back demands for curtailing US assistance to Pakistan.

Despite repeated attempts by Indian journalists, the US official refused to endorse the demand that Washington should recognise India's right to conduct Abbottabad-style raids inside Pakistan to catch suspected terrorists.

“They are legitimate concerns, given the circumstances of where Bin Ladin was found,” said Mr Toner when asked for comments on moves in the US Congress to curtail aid to Pakistan.

“But we believe...that our counter-terrorism cooperation and our assistance to Pakistan are in the long-term national security interests of the US as well as in the interest of building a stronger, more prosperous, and more democratic Pakistan.”

Asked how the US dealt with those legitimate concerns, Mr Toner said: “We go to the Pakistanis, which we've done, and we say these are our concerns and you need to address them in a clear and coherent way.” Were US relations with Pakistan also good for India, he was asked. “It's good for the region,” the US official replied.

The State Department spokesman declined to back another Indian demand that the US should endorse a list of 50 most wanted terrorists India issued this week. Asked what message he had for India, which is seeking access to those 50 suspects in Pakistan, Mr Toner said: “Our message is that we sympathize with India, which has also been the victim of terrorism, and we are committed to bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice, and we call on other countries to do the same.”

In the same briefing, the US official noted that while the State Department had designated several leaders of the Haqqani network as terrorists, it had not yet declared the group a foreign terrorist organisation. “We have designated key leaders of the Haqqani network – Sirajuddin, Nasiruddin, and Khalil Haqqani – as specially designated global terrorists. Other options obviously remain on the table, but those are who we've done to date,” said Mr Toner when asked if India's 50 most wanted would also appear on a US list of suspected terrorists.

“At this point, there's no plan to designate the Haqqani network as a foreign terrorist organisation,” he added.Asked if the US planned to take legal actions against the ISI as well, Mr Toner said: “Our actions are focused on targeting the key individuals within the Haqqani network and isolating them.”

An Indian journalist, however, broadened the discussion, branding everyone – from Gen Musharraf to Gen Kayani – as terrorists.