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Pakistan has been a “phenomenal partner” to the United States arsenic it tries to present justness for immoderate of the deadliest attacks against the withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan successful 2021, said General Michael Kurilla, the U.S. CENTCOM main connected Tuesday (June 10, 2025). Speaking astatine a House Armed Services Committee hearing, helium said Pakistan’s subject has captured “at slightest 5 ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K)” terrorists utilizing the quality provided by the U.S. and argued successful favour of strengthening narration with some India and Pakistan.
“Since the opening of 2024, Pakistan had implicit 1000 violent attacks successful the western country sidesplitting astir 700 information (personnel) and civilians and 2500 wounded — they are successful an progressive counter-terrorism combat close present and they person been a phenomenal spouse successful the counter-terrorism world,” said Gen. Kurilla citing the Pakistani subject actions against ISIS-K.
Gen. Kurilla appreciated the Pakistan subject for arresting Mohammed Sharifullah who was accused of orchestrating and providing worldly enactment for the August 26, 2021 termination blast astatine Kabul airdrome that led to the decease of astatine slightest 13 U.S. subject unit and astatine slightest 170 Afghan civilians successful the backdrop of withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. The United States had blamed the onslaught connected ISIS-Khorasan elements. Sharifullah besides known by his alias Jaffar was flown to the U.S. successful the archetypal week of March.
“We’re seeing Pakistan — with constricted quality that we provided them — spell aft them utilizing their means to bash that and we’re seeing an effect connected ISIS Khorasan,” Gen. Kurilla said. He said that soon aft the apprehension of Sharifullah, Pakistan Army main General Asim Munir called him requesting that the accusation should beryllium delivered to President Donald Trump.
Following the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam panic attack, India intensified its run for stricter planetary measures against Pakistan to rein successful panic outfits similar Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) that people Indian citizens and facilities. During the Operation Sindoor, Indian forces deed targets wrong Pakistan that belonged to LeT and JeM.
Gen. Kurilla nevertheless argued successful favour of the U.S. engaging some India and Pakistan for advancing its information goals. “We person to person a narration with Pakistan and with India. I don’t judge it’s a binary power that we can’t person 1 with Pakistan if we person 1 with India. We should look astatine the merits of the narration for the positives that it has,” helium said.
The wide said that Pakistan’s actions were eroding ISIS-K that had carried retired attacks successful Russia arsenic good arsenic successful Iran. Apart from Gen. Kurilla, Paul Kapoor, the incoming Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs has besides said successful a confirmation proceeding that “On Pakistan, if confirmed” helium volition “pursue information practice wherever it is beneficial to U.S. interests.”
The Ministry of External Affairs is yet to respond to the remarks from the CENTCOM chief. India has been engaged with the United States connected cross-border coercion from Pakistan and the Ministry of External Affairs had informed earlier that Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri who paid a three-day sojourn to Washington D.C. had included “counter-terrorism” successful his docket during the talks that helium held there.
Published - June 11, 2025 09:56 p.m. IST
English (US) ·