Pakistan is a ‘Phenomenal Partner’ in counterterrorism: US Centcom chief
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New Delhi: General Michael Kurilla, the Commander of the United States Central Command (Centcom), said that Pakistan is a ‘phenomenal partner in the counterterrorism world’.
General Michael Kurilla’s statement comes a couple of days after an Indian delegation visited the US to expose Pakistan’s role in hatching terrorism, The Print reported.
While pointing to a continued engagement with India and Pakistan, Michael Kurilla, however, credited Pakistan with successful operations against ISIS-Khorasan.
Following Pahalgam massacre and Operation Sindoor, the Modi government sent parliamentary delegations to several countries including the US seeking foreign leaders to directly condemn Pakistan’s involvement in terrorism alongside diplomatically isolating the country.
Kurilla’s comments point to the US strategy in South Asia when he said ‘We have to have a relationship with Pakistan and with India’, adding ‘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’.
Describing ISIS-Khorasan as one of the most active terrorist organisations trying to attack places including in the US, he said dozens of ISIS-K fighters had been killed through a ‘phenomenal partnership’ with Pakistan.
He termed the arrest and extradition of Mohammad Sharifullah, who believed to have involved in the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul, as evidence of ‘Pakistan’s value as a partner in countering CASA terror EXOPs threats worldwide.’
Kurilla stated that ‘Pakistan continues to hunt ISIS-K in their border areas, executing dozens of operations to kill and capture multiple leaders, including the mastermind of the Abbey Gate attack that claimed 13 American lives.’
