United States President, Donald Trump, announced the capture of an Afghan national allegedly linked to the deadly Kabul airport bombing of August 2021.
Trump made this disclosure in his first address to Congress since returning to the White House.
The arrest, which was made possible through cooperation with Pakistan, marks a significant milestone in counterterrorism efforts.
Speaking to lawmakers, Trump described the attack as “the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country” and expressed his satisfaction with the recent breakthrough.
“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,” Trump declared.
Pakistani Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, welcomed the acknowledgment from the U.S. president, reaffirming his country’s commitment to combating terrorism.
In a statement, Sharif confirmed that the suspect, identified as Mohammad Sharifullah, was a commander of the ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in Khorasan Province (ISKP) and had been captured near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
“As is well-known, Pakistan has always played a critical role in counterterrorism efforts aimed at denying safe havens to terrorists and militant groups the space to operate against any other country,” Sharif wrote on social media, using an alternate spelling for the suspect’s name.
The arrest comes at a time of heightened security concerns in Pakistan, following recent suicide bombings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that resulted in multiple casualties.
While details of the operation remain undisclosed, a government source told Al Jazeera that Pakistan’s security forces carried out the arrest based on U.S. intelligence received just days earlier.
“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 U.S. for due process of law,” the source revealed.
The attack at Kabul’s Abbey Gate on August 26, 2021, occurred as U.S. forces were facilitating evacuations following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.
A suicide bomber detonated explosives at the airport entrance, killing nearly 200 people, including 13 American soldiers. U.S. authorities later identified the attacker as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an ISKP member who had been freed from prison by the Taliban just weeks before the bombing.
Three days after the attack, the U.S. carried out a drone strike in Kabul, initially claiming to have eliminated an ISKP commander.
However, it was later revealed that the strike had mistakenly killed 10 civilians, including seven children, prompting an apology from Washington.
The latest counterterrorism operation underscores the continued security challenges in the region. Pakistan has long accused the Taliban government of failing to prevent cross-border attacks, a claim the Afghan authorities have consistently denied.
According to CNN, CIA Director, John Ratcliffe, addressed these concerns in his first call with Pakistan’s intelligence chief, General Asim Malik, shortly after assuming office.
Following his capture, Sharifullah, also known as Jafar, arrived in the U.S. on Wednesday morning. His transfer was confirmed by FBI Director Kash Patel, who announced, “Terrorist Jafar is officially in U.S. custody.”
With the geopolitical landscape shifting and U.S. involvement in the region declining, Pakistan’s growing ties with China have added complexity to its relationship with Washington.
However, experts believe that counterterrorism cooperation remains a strong pillar of the U.S.-Pakistan dynamic.
Pakistan’s former ambassador to the U.S., Maleeha Lodhi, emphasized that despite political differences, security collaboration between the two nations remains intact.
“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 noted.
An expert in international affairs, Qamar Cheema, pointed out that Washington’s approach to Afghanistan remains closely tied to its view of Pakistan’s role in the region.
“The U.S. sees Afghanistan through a Pakistani lens. Pakistani officials believe that illegal U.S.-made weapons in Afghanistan are being used to carry out attacks in Pakistan and the region,” he explained. “This operation shows that the current U.S. administration acknowledges Pakistan’s importance—something that was less evident under Biden.”
Despite this cooperation, Lodhi believes the broader relationship between the two countries requires recalibration.
“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-U.S. relations, which are in need of a major reset.”
