President Trump’s commendation of Pakistan for apprehending the mastermind behind the 2021 Kabul airport attack might be an excellent indication for Islamabad amidst stretched relations with the United States
[Islamabad] Attending to a joint session of Congress last Tuesday, President Donald Trump revealed the arrest and extradition to the United States of the supposed mastermind behind the 2021 Kabul airport attack, which eliminated 13 United States service members.
” Tonight, I am delighted to reveal that we have actually simply nabbed the leading terrorist accountable for that atrocity, and he is right now on his method here to deal with the speedy sword of American justice,” President Trump stated, thanking Pakistan’s federal government for its help in the arrest.
The lethal battle happened on August 26, 2021, throughout the disorderly US-led evacuation following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. A suicide bomber detonated dynamites near Abbey Gate, among the primary entryways to Kabul International Airport, where countless Afghans and foreign nationals had actually collected in an effort to leave the nation.
The attack eliminated 11 Militaries, one Navy corpsman, and one soldier, in addition to a minimum of 170 Afghan civilians. More than 200 others were hurt. The Khorasan Province branch of the Islamic State group (IS-KP) declared duty for the battle.
In his speech, President Trump slammed previous President Joe Biden for his handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.
” This was an extremely special day for those 13 households, who I in fact was familiar with extremely well, the majority of them whose kids were killed, and the lots of individuals that were so terribly– over 42 individuals so terribly hurt on that eventful day in Afghanistan,” the president stated. “What a dreadful day. Such incompetence was revealed.”
The day after President Trump’s speech, the Department of Justice revealed that Mohammad Sharifullah, likewise referred to as Jafar, had actually been apprehended for his function in the attack.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked President Trump for acknowledging Pakistan’s function and for supporting counterterrorism efforts in the area. In a post on X on Wednesday, he stated that Sharifullah was caught “in an effective operation carried out in the Pakistan-Afghan border area” however did not reveal more information.
” We stay unfaltering in our willpower and unwavering dedication to combating terrorism in all its kinds and symptoms,” Sharif composed. “In this effort, Pakistan has actually rendered excellent sacrifices, consisting of the lives of over 80,000 of our brave soldiers and residents.”
Likewise on Wednesday, United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth informed Fox News that the United States had actually supplied the intelligence that led Pakistan to apprehend Sharifullah.
Unique thanks to Pakistan undoubtedly, they worked together with us
” Unique thanks to Pakistan undoubtedly, they worked together with us,” Hegseth stated.
The Trump administration’s recommendation of Pakistan’s function in the operation was especially noteworthy offered current stress in between the United States and Pakistan. In February, 2 Republican congressmen with close ties to President Trump composed a letter to United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio prompting him to protect the release of previous Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is presently imprisoned in Pakistan on corruption charges. That exact same month, New york city City ended its $220 million lease with the Roosevelt Hotel, owned by Pakistan International Airlines.
” For those anticipating the brand-new United States administration to take a hard position on Pakistan’s military or push for Khan’s release, this cooperation reveals the United States still sees Pakistan as helpful on some fronts,” Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute, composed on X on Wednesday.
He included that Pakistan wishes to utilize counterterrorism coordination with the United States as a method to bring back American assistance.
Speaking on condition of privacy, an Islamabad-based intelligence authorities informed The Media Line that Sharifullah played an essential function in several lethal attacks, consisting of rocket strikes on the Afghan governmental palace and the United States Embassy, in addition to his participation in the Abbey Gate battle.
The authorities likewise exposed Sharifullah’s close ties to Shahab al-Muhajir, the leader of IS-KP. He had actually been apprehended by Afghan intelligence under Afghan President Ashraf Ghani however was devoid of Bagram jail when the Taliban took Kabul in August 2021.
Sharifullah contributed in collaborating IS-KP’s operations, managing recruitment, and arranging logistical assistance for suicide bombers. His capture is anticipated to yield crucial intelligence concerning IS-KP’s organizational structure and financing sources.
More examination and prosecution will take place in the United States. On Wednesday, Sharifullah was brought before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The FBI validated his extradition and stated he had actually been spoken with 3 days previously.
FBI representative Seth Parker, who led the arrest, informed the court that Sharifullah had actually been associated with IS considering that 2016 and had actually performed several operations for IS-KP.
Throughout questioning, Sharifullah confessed to assisting a suicide bomber in the June 20, 2016, attack on the Canadian Embassy in Kabul. He determined the bomber and comprehensive his function in assisting in the attack.
Andrew Korybko, a Moscow-based American political expert, explained the 2021 attack as a “specifying minute” for IS-KP. He stated that the 2024 attack on a Moscow music place “highlighted the group’s broadening reach.”
Korybko informed The Media Line that US-Pakistan cooperation in Sharifullah’s arrest “highlights relentless security cooperation regardless of political divides.”
This case declares Pakistan’s dedication to counterterrorism, guaranteeing other nations that intelligence-sharing stays reliable regardless of diplomatic obstacles
” This case declares Pakistan’s dedication to counterterrorism, guaranteeing other nations that intelligence-sharing stays reliable regardless of diplomatic obstacles,” Korybko stated.
He highlighted that the United States and Pakistan ought to continue focusing on shared counterterrorism efforts. “Distinctions, such as Pakistan’s ties with China or United States issues over its internal affairs, ought to not prevent their shared security objectives,” he stated.
Waleed Parwez, a director at the Islamabad-based Pakistan Strategic Online forum, likewise explained the operation as an example of Pakistan’s deepening counterterrorism partnership with the United States.
” Both countries declared their dedication to counterterrorism cooperation after the fall of Kabul, with collaborations now mainly targeting IS-KP,” he informed The Media Line, including that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and al-Qaida were secondary issues.
The chief of Pakistan’s intelligence company, Asim Malik, was among the very first foreign leaders whom CIA Director John Ratcliffe called after being sworn in January.
Throughout the call, he stated, “the CIA director shared intelligence about Sharifullah’s activities, especially his semipermanent home in Afghan area near the Pakistani border.”
Parwez stated that Malik and Ratcliffe then fulfilled in February at the Munich Security Conference. After that conference, United States and Pakistani intelligence firms heightened their partnership, carefully tracking Sharifullah’s motions. An elite Pakistani system was put on standby before Pakistan caught and handed him over to the United States, Parwez stated.
Iftikhar Firdous, a leading Islamabad-based security specialist and creator of Khorasan Journal, a platform tracking armed groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan, stated that Sharifullah’s arrest functions as “a suggestion that Pakistan and the United States will stay incorporated a need-based relationship when it concerns counterterrorism.”
As terrorism rises regionally, and as IS and its local chapters stay the world’s most dangerous terrorist groups, Pakistan will stay main to counterterrorism efforts, Firdous informed The Media Line.
He kept in mind that Pakistan had actually effectively nabbed IS-KP fighters accountable for significant terrorist attacks, consisting of those in Kabul (2021 ), Iran (2024 ), and Moscow (2024 ).
Farzana Shah, a Peshawar-based defense expert, called the objective “a substantial accomplishment in US-Pakistan intelligence cooperation.”
She alerted, nevertheless, that Pakistan’s intelligence-sharing with the United States was “a double-edged sword,” as it increases Pakistan’s direct exposure to vindictive attacks.