United States Central Command (Centcom) commander Army General Michael Kurilla on Wednesday praised Pakistan as a “phenomenal partner in the world of counter-terrorism”, citing the nation’s struggle against terrorism in Balochistan and against terrorist groups like the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K).
Pakistan and the US reaffirmed the continuation of counter-terrorism cooperation during a dialogue in Washington on May 10. 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 outfits such as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and IS-K.
The two nations are slated to have another counter-terrorism dialogue this month.
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.
Hailing a “phenomenal partnership” with Islamabad, Gen Kurilla highlighted that Pakistan has “gone after ISIS Khorasan (IS-K) 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,” Kurilla said.
“They have extradited back Jaffar, who was one of the key individuals behind the Abbey Gate bombing,” he added, referring to IS-K operative Mohammad Sharifullah, an Afghan national who was arrested by Pakistan earlier this year.
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 noted that there have been 1,000 terrorist attacks in “the western area” of Pakistan since the start of 2024, noting that they “are in an active counter-terrorism fight right now”.
“They have been a phenomenal partner in the counter-terrorism world,” the Centcom chief added.
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.”
In April, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the pair’s first phone call, where America’s top diplomat expressed interest in deepening cooperation in a variety of sectors, including counter-terrorism.
“During the call, DPM (Deputy Prime Minister)/FM Dar reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with the United States,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
“According to the statement, Dar highlighted Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts between 2013 and 2018, with Rubio appreciating Pakistan’s fight against terrorism and expressing the US’s “desire to further enhance counterterrorism cooperation”.
In an address to the US Congress in March, US President Donald Trump spoke about Sharifullah, praising Pakistan for the arrest.
“Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice,” the US president told Congress. “I want to thank especially the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster.”
