United States Central Command (Centcom) commander Army General Michael Kurilla praised Pakistan as a “phenomenal partner” in counter-terrorism on Wednesday, highlighting its successful operations against Daesh-Khorasan and the ongoing fight against terrorism.
The US and Pakistan reaffirmed the continuation of counter-terrorism cooperation during a dialogue in Washington last month. The dialogue underscored the cooperation between the two countries in addressing the most pressing challenges to regional and global security, including the threats posed by terrorist organisations such as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K).
During a House Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington on Tuesday, the general was asked about the situation on the Afghan border with Pakistan, where he outlined that Pakistan has apprehended several “high-value” IS-K operatives, according to Dawn and various news agencies.
“Through a relationship we have with them and providing intelligence, they have captured at least five ISIS Khorasan high-value individuals,” Kurilla said.
“They have extradited back Jaffar, who was one of the key individuals behind the Abbey Gate bombing,” he added. Earlier this year, Pakistani officials arrested and extradited Mohammad Sharifullah, a Daesh militant, accused of planning the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul, which killed 13 American service members and more than 160 Afghan civilians during the US military withdrawal.
Gen Kurilla added that he received a call from Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir after Sharifullah’s arrest, recounting, “He said ‘I’ve caught him, I’m willing to extradite him back to the United States, please tell the secretary of defence and the president’.
“We’re seeing Pakistan — with limited intelligence that we provided them — go after them using their means to do that and we’re seeing an effect on ISIS Khorasan,” he emphasised.
Gen Kurilla observed that there have been 1,000 terrorist attacks in “the western area” of Pakistan since the start of 2024.
“They have been a phenomenal partner in the counter-terrorism world,” the Centcom chief noted.
The two nations are slated to have another counter-terrorism dialogue this month.
Continuing his testimony, Gen Kurilla stated that the US needs to maintain ties with both Pakistan and India.
“We have to have a relationship with Pakistan and with India. I don’t believe it’s a binary switch that we can’t have one with Pakistan if we have one with India,” he argued. “We should look at the merits of the relationship for the positives that it has.”
Pakistan and the United States have a long, if at times turbulent, history of counterterrorism cooperation dating back to the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Islamabad was a key partner during the US-led war in Afghanistan, and over the years has captured and handed over numerous Al-Qaeda operatives to US authorities.