Islamabad, Pakistan – United States President Donald Trump revealed throughout his deal with to Congress on Tuesday evening that an Afghan nationwide, allegedly concerned in planning the lethal August 2021 bombing at Kabul airport, had been arrested with Pakistan’s help.
The assault befell whereas US forces had been serving to the evacuation from town following the Taliban’s Kabul takeover.
In his first deal with to Congress after taking workplace for his second time period, Trump referred to the Kabul airport blast, calling it “essentially the most embarrassing second within the historical past of our nation”.
“Tonight, I’m happy to announce that now we have simply apprehended the highest terrorist chargeable for that atrocity, and he’s proper now on his method right here to face the swift sword of American justice. And I need to thank particularly the federal government of Pakistan for serving to arrest this monster,” the US president declared on Monday evening.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a press release, thanked Trump for “appreciating Pakistan’s position and help in counterterrorism efforts throughout the area”.
He confirmed that Mohammad Sharifullah, a commander of the ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in Khorasan Province (ISKP), was an Afghan nationwide captured in an operation performed within the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area.
“As is well-known, Pakistan has at all times performed a crucial position in counter terrorism efforts aimed toward denying protected havens to terrorists and militant teams the area to function in opposition to some other nation,” Sharif wrote in a message on X, the social media platform, on Wednesday, utilizing a distinct spelling for the alleged bombing mastermind’s title.
We thank US President Donald Trump for acknowledging and appreciating Pakistan’s position and help in counter terrorism efforts throughout the area, within the context of Pakistan Safety Forces’ current apprehension of ISKP’s high tier operational commander Shareefullah, who’s an…
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) March 5, 2025
The event comes a day after a bombing in Pakistan’s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the place a suicide assault killed 12 civilians. Final week, one other suicide bomb blast at a mosque in the identical province killed not less than 4 folks, with many suspecting the ISKP’s involvement.
What was the Abbey Gate bombing at Kabul airport?
Because the Taliban took over Kabul on August 15, 2021, US authorities set an August 31 deadline to evacuate all American troops stationed in Afghanistan for the previous 20 years.
Nevertheless, on August 26, as hundreds of Afghans sought an escape from Kabul, a suicide bombing on the airport’s entry level, generally known as Abbey Gate, killed almost 200 folks, together with 13 American troopers.
A subsequent US investigation revealed that the bomber, recognized as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, had been an ISKP member since 2016. He was considered one of hundreds of ISKP members freed by the Taliban after they seized management of the nation in August 2021.
Three days after the Abbey Gate assault, US forces launched a drone strike in central Kabul, allegedly focusing on an ISKP commander.
Nevertheless, the missile killed not less than 10 civilians, together with seven youngsters. Initially, the US claimed to have efficiently eradicated its goal, however later admitted it was a mistake and issued an apology.
Who Is Sharifullah, and the way was he arrested?
Whereas Prime Minister Sharif disclosed that the apprehended particular person was an Afghan nationwide, he supplied no particulars on how the operation was performed.
A authorities supply advised Al Jazeera that the operation demonstrated “sturdy cooperation” between the US and Pakistani safety institutions in counterterrorism efforts.
The supply additional revealed that Pakistani safety forces started monitoring Sharifullah after receiving intelligence from the US “a number of days again”.
“He was arrested in late February close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in an operation solely performed by Pakistani safety companies. Afterwards, the person was extradited to the US for due technique of regulation,” the federal government supply said.
“Sharifullah’s arrest additionally proves that Pakistan’s place on Afghanistan being a hotbed of terrorism is totally right,” the supply added, talking anonymously as they weren’t authorised to debate the matter publicly.
Pakistan has lengthy criticised the Taliban authorities for failing to curb the presence of armed teams on Afghan soil, which launch assaults inside Pakistani territory. The Afghan authorities has constantly denied these accusations.
In keeping with US information outlet CNN, CIA Director John Ratcliffe raised the difficulty throughout his first telephone name with Pakistan’s intelligence chief, Common Asim Malik, quickly after assuming workplace.
Sharifullah, additionally recognized by the alias Jafar, arrived within the US early on Wednesday morning. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed his arrival. “Terrorist Jafar is formally in US custody,” he stated.
That point you delivered the sword of justice for the American people- thanks to your unimaginable management @AGPamBondi and @JohnRatcliffe . So happy with the women and men of the FBI, DOJ, and CIA.
Justice for Abby Gate- terrorist Jafar formally in US custody pic.twitter.com/EN1wjwjzCw
— Kash Patel (@Kash_Patel) March 5, 2025
What does this arrest imply for Pakistan-US relations?
With US curiosity within the area waning and Pakistan’s ties with China – Washington’s main geopolitical rival – rising, the connection between the 2 nations has remained lukewarm lately.
Nevertheless, Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, believes the operation alerts that counterterrorism cooperation between the 2 nations stays sturdy.
“Regardless of the dearth of adequate engagement on the political degree, military-to-military ties proceed to be sturdy, which has lengthy been the case on this roller-coaster relationship,” she advised Al Jazeera.
Qamar Cheema, a world affairs skilled and government director of the Islamabad-based Sanober Institute, echoed this sentiment.
“It is very important perceive that the US views Afghanistan via a Pakistani lens. The Pakistani view is that unlawful US-made weapons in Afghanistan are being utilized by armed teams to hold out assaults in Pakistan and the area,” he advised Al Jazeera.
“Officers from each nations consider they need to work collectively to keep up regional stability. This operation reveals there’s readability within the US administration about Pakistan’s significance – one thing that was much less seen through the earlier Biden administration,” Cheema added.
Nevertheless, Lodhi, who additionally served as Pakistan’s ambassador to the UK and the United Nations, believes the broader Pakistan-US relationship wants a reset, because it has been at a low level for the reason that US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
“What this newest growth reveals is that cooperation continues in a slender bandwidth and has but to discover a wider foundation. Pakistan just isn’t on Trump’s international coverage precedence checklist, however the arrest and Trump’s gratitude towards Pakistan current a possibility to discover how the connection could be rebuilt and redefined,” she stated.
“However it can be crucial to not overstate the importance of this arrest for Pakistan-US relations, that are in want of a significant reset.”