Pakistan 'phenomenal partner' in counter-terrorism, says US Centcom chief

• Pakistan gone after Daesh-K, killing dozens of them: Centcom chief.
• Recounts extradition of Jaffar, suspect behind Abbey Gate bombing.
• "US needs to maintain ties with both Pakistan and India."

United States Central Command (Centcom) Chief General Michael Kurilla has lauded Pakistan as a “phenomenal partner” in global counter-terrorism efforts, highlighting its successful operations against Daesh-Khorasan and the ongoing fight against terrorism.

"Through a phenomenal partnership, Pakistan has gone after Daesh-Khorasan, killing dozens of them... through a relationship we have with them and providing intelligence, they have captured at least five ISIS Khorasan high-value individuals," he said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington.

Last month, Islamabad and Washington reaffirmed the continuation of counter-terrorism cooperation to advance regional and global security and stability during a counter-terrorism dialogue.

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 Daesh-Khorasan.

Pakistan has been reeling under rising violent attacks since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, particularly in the bordering provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

During the congressional hearing, General Kurilla was questioned about the security situation along Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan.

"... right now what we saw is the Taliban is going after Daesh-K...they hate each other, pushed a lot of them into the tribal areas on the Afghan-Pakistan border through a phenomenal partnership with Pakistan," he said.  

"They [Pakistan] have extradited back Jaffar, who was one of the key individuals behind the Abbey Gate bombing,” he added, referring to Daesh operative Mohammad Sharifullah, an Afghan national who was arrested by Pakistan earlier this year.

The Daesh operative allegedly helped carry out the 2021 suicide bombing outside Kabul airport during the chaotic US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Sharifullah has confessed to scouting out the route to the airport, where the suicide bomber later detonated his device among packed crowds trying to flee days after the Taliban seized control of Kabul, the Justice Department said.

The blast at the Abbey Gate killed at least 170 Afghans as well as 13 US troops who were securing the airport's perimeter.

Furthermore, the Centcom chief said, he received a call from Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir after Sharifullah’s arrest, saying, “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 Daesh Khorasan,” he added.

Gen Kurilla added that there have been 1,000 terrorist attacks in “the western area” of Pakistan since the start of 2024, noting that the country was “in an active counter-terrorism fight right now”. “They have been a phenomenal partner in the counter-terrorism world,” he added.

He concluded by saying that the US needs to maintain ties with both Pakistan and India. “I do not believe it is a binary switch that we can’t have one with Pakistan if we have a relationship with India. We should look at the merits of the relationship for the positives that it has,” he said.