The commander of the Central Commander of the United States (Centcom), the army general Michael Kurilla, praised Pakistan on Wednesday as a “phenomenal partner in the world of counter-terrorism”, citing the struggle of the nation against terrorism in Baluchistan and against terrorist groups such as the Islamic-Corásano state (IS-K).
Pakistan and the United States reaffirmed the continuation of anti -terrorism cooperation during a dialogue in Washington on May 10. The dialogue stressed cooperation between the two countries to address the most pressing challenges for regional and global security, including the threats raised by terrorist attire such as Tehreek-I-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the TTP) and the terrorist Urso.
The two nations are scheduled to have another anti -terrorism dialogue this month.
During the hearing of the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives in Washington on Tuesday, the General was asked about the situation at the Afghan border with Pakistan, where he described that Pakistan has arrested several IS-K operations of “high value.”
Learning a “phenomenal association” with Islamabad, General Kurilla stressed that Pakistan “has gone after Isis Khorasan (IS-K) kill dozens of them.”
“Through a relationship we have with them and providing intelligence, they have captured at least five people of high value of ISIS KHORASAN,” Kurilla said.
“They have extradited Jaffar, who was one of the key people behind the bombing of Abbey Gate,” he added, referring to the IS-K Mohammad Sharifullah operation, an Afghan citizen who was arrested by Pakistan earlier this year.
General Kurilla added that he received a call from the Chief of Field of the Army Chief, also Munir, after the arrest of Sharifullah, counting: “He said ‘I have caught him, I am willing to extradite him back to the United States, please tell the Secretary of Defense and the President.’
“We are seeing Pakistan, with limited intelligence that we provide, go after their means to do it and we are seeing an effect on Isis Khorasan,” he emphasized.
General Kurilla said there have been 1,000 terrorist attacks in the “western area” of Pakistan since the beginning of 2024, noting that “they are in an active struggle against terrorism at this time.”
“They have been a phenomenal partner in the anti -terrorism world,” added the head of Centcom.
Continuing with his testimony, General Kurilla declared that the United States needs to maintain ties with Pakistan and India.
“We have to have a relationship with Pakistan and with India. I don’t think it’s a binary change 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 positive aspects it has.”
In April, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke with the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, in the first telephone call of the couple, where the main diplomat of the United States expressed interest in deepening cooperation in a variety of sectors, including counter-terrorism.
“During the call, DPM (VicePrimer Minister)/FM GIV reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to strengthen his association with the United States,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.
“According to the statement, GIV highlighted the anti -terrorist efforts of Pakistan between 2013 and 2018, with Rubio appreciating Pakistan’s struggle against terrorism and expressing the” desire of the United States to further improve anti -terrorism cooperation. “
In a speech to the United States Congress in March, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, spoke about Sharifullah, praising Pakistan for the arrest.
“Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just stopped the best terrorists responsible for that atrocity, and he goes here to face the rapid sword of US justice,” said the president of the United States to Congress. “I want to especially thank Pakistan’s government for helping to arrest this monster.”
