Islamabad, Pakistan – United States President Donald Trump revealed during his address to Congress on Tuesday night that an Afghan national, allegedly involved in planning the deadly August 2021 bombing at Kabul airport, had been arrested with Pakistan’s assistance.
The attack took place while US forces were helping the evacuation from the city following the Taliban’s Kabul takeover.
In his first address to Congress after taking office for his second term, Trump referred to the Kabul airport blast, calling it “the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country”.
“Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice. And I want to thank especially the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster,” the US president declared on Monday night.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a statement, thanked Trump for “appreciating Pakistan’s role and support in counterterrorism efforts across the region”.
He confirmed that Mohammad Sharifullah, a commander of the ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in Khorasan Province (ISKP), was an Afghan national captured in an operation conducted in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region.
“As is well-known, Pakistan has always played a critical role in counter terrorism efforts aimed at denying safe havens to terrorists and militant groups the space to operate against any other country,” Sharif wrote in a message on X, the social media platform, on Wednesday, using a different spelling for the alleged bombing mastermind’s name.
We thank US President Donald Trump for acknowledging and appreciating Pakistan’s role and support in counter terrorism efforts across the region, in the context of Pakistan Security Forces’ recent apprehension of ISKP’s top tier operational commander Shareefullah, who is an…
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) March 5, 2025
The development comes a day after a bombing in Pakistan’s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where a suicide attack killed 12 civilians. Last week, another suicide bomb blast at a mosque in the same province killed at least four people, with many suspecting the ISKP’s involvement.
What was the Abbey Gate bombing at Kabul airport?
As 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 past 20 years.
However, on August 26, as thousands of Afghans sought an escape from Kabul, a suicide bombing at the airport’s entry point, known as Abbey Gate, killed nearly 200 people, including 13 American soldiers.
A subsequent US investigation revealed that the bomber, identified as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, had been an ISKP member since 2016. He was one of thousands of ISKP members freed by the Taliban after they seized control of the country in August 2021.
Three days after the Abbey Gate attack, US forces launched a drone strike in central Kabul, allegedly targeting an ISKP commander.
However, the missile killed at least 10 civilians, including seven children. Initially, the US claimed to have successfully eliminated its target, but later admitted it was a mistake and issued an apology.
Who Is Sharifullah, and how was he arrested?
While Prime Minister Sharif disclosed that the apprehended individual was an Afghan national, he provided no details on how the operation was conducted.
A government source told Al Jazeera that the operation demonstrated “strong cooperation” between the US and Pakistani security establishments in counterterrorism efforts.
The source further revealed that Pakistani security forces began tracking Sharifullah after receiving intelligence from the US “a few days back”.
“He was arrested in late February near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in an operation solely conducted by Pakistani security agencies. Afterwards, the individual was extradited to the US for due process of law,” the government source stated.
“Sharifullah’s arrest also proves that Pakistan’s position on Afghanistan being a hotbed of terrorism is absolutely correct,” the source added, speaking anonymously as they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly.
Pakistan has long criticised the Taliban government for failing to curb the presence of armed groups on Afghan soil, which launch attacks inside Pakistani territory. The Afghan government has consistently denied these accusations.
According to US news outlet CNN, CIA Director John Ratcliffe raised the issue during his first phone call with Pakistan’s intelligence chief, General Asim Malik, soon after assuming office.
Sharifullah, also known by the alias Jafar, arrived in the US early on Wednesday morning. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed his arrival. “Terrorist Jafar is officially in US custody,” he said.
That time you delivered the sword of justice for the American people- thank you for your incredible leadership @AGPamBondi and @JohnRatcliffe . So proud of the men and women of the FBI, DOJ, and CIA.
Justice for Abby Gate- terrorist Jafar officially in US custody pic.twitter.com/EN1wjwjzCw
— Kash Patel (@Kash_Patel) March 5, 2025
What does this arrest mean for Pakistan-US relations?
With US interest in the region waning and Pakistan’s ties with China – Washington’s primary geopolitical rival – growing, the relationship between the two nations has remained lukewarm in recent years.
However, Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, believes the operation signals that counterterrorism cooperation between the two countries remains strong.
“Despite the lack of sufficient engagement at the political level, military-to-military ties continue to be strong, which has long been the case in this roller-coaster relationship,” she told Al Jazeera.
Qamar Cheema, an international affairs expert and executive director of the Islamabad-based Sanober Institute, echoed this sentiment.
“It is important to understand that the US views Afghanistan through a Pakistani lens. The Pakistani view is that illegal US-made weapons in Afghanistan are being used by armed groups to carry out attacks in Pakistan and the region,” he told Al Jazeera.
“Officials from both countries believe they must work together to maintain regional stability. This operation shows there is clarity in the US administration about Pakistan’s importance – something that was less visible during the previous Biden administration,” Cheema added.
However, Lodhi, who also served as Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Kingdom and the United Nations, believes the broader Pakistan-US relationship needs a reset, as it has been at a low point since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
“What this latest development shows is that cooperation continues in a narrow bandwidth and has yet to find a wider basis. Pakistan is not on Trump’s foreign policy priority list, but the arrest and Trump’s gratitude toward Pakistan present an opportunity to explore how the relationship can be rebuilt and redefined,” she said.
“But it is important not to overstate the significance of this arrest for Pakistan-US relations, which are in need of a major reset.”
