A New Page In US-Pakistan Relations: Trump’s Call For Increased Counterterrorism Cooperation – OpEd

Not surprisingly perhaps to many, President Donald Trump’s recent address to the U.S. Congress addressed not only his domestic policy agenda, but a new and unexpected page in U.S.-Pakistan relations as well.

Where a lot of his speech was redoing his “age of gold of America” in which the deregulation of, fewer employees of the federal government, and a complete changing of immigration law was on the agenda, when he did get around to stating something about world security, which was the best part of it, particularly Pakistan’s contribution toward the war against terror globally, it rang clearest.

The most common refrain of Trump’s speech was again more war on terror in which America was “strong against the forces of radical Islamic terrorism.” The major part of the speech was occupied by description of Kabul airport bombing in August 2021 when 13 American servicemen and 169 Afghan civilians were massacred. Trump was prompt in blaming the Biden administration for the disastrous withdrawal and labeling it “perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country.” But with a sudden turn to the majority of foreign policy experts, Trump waited to make a statement in sensational language that among the conspirators of the blast has been arrested — Mohammad Sharifullah, the chief commander of the ISKP.

In a rare public credit, Trump mentioned the contribution of Pakistan in the arrest of Sharifullah, who was arrested in a raid along the volatile Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The move was significant considering the historically strained Washington-Islamabad relations, particularly after America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and the Taliban’s return to power. Trump’s statement that he was “happy to announce” the arrest of Sharifullah, and to thank the Pakistani government, is a harbinger of a new US-Pakistan relations thaw that everyone thought had vanished forever.

Sharifullah’s arrest is a monumental win in the war against terror, there is no question about it, but the political significance of this cannot be overstated. For Pakistan, US applause is long-overdue endorsement of its war on terror. President is a respite from otherwise strained relations between the two countries. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in his second tweet, thanked Trump for the appreciation but remained firm on Pakistan’s anti-terrorism campaign. Sharif continued to cite the humongous amount of money Pakistan lost in a war on terror as it lost over many of soldiers and civilians fighting extremism. The raid that led to the arrest of Sharifullah has also been viewed as a case of increasing cooperation between the Pakistan army and the United States intelligence services.

The arrest operation on Sharifullah has been said to have been on the cards for months, and intelligence from America had been gathering vital information on his whereabouts. The CIA, after it had obtained actionale intelligence, had a bilateral liaison with Pakistan’s Intelligence to locate and arrest the militant. The raid where Sharifullah was arrested is evidence of the continuation, if clandestine, of military-to-military cooperation between the two nations.

The Trump administration’s appreciation of Pakistan and the successful elimination of a top terrorist are both possible turning points for the U.S.-Pakistan relationship. Washington-Islamabad diplomatic relations have deteriorated over the past few years, particularly after the 2018 breakdown of the U.S.-Pakistan security deal and enhanced Pakistani mediation of peace talks between Washington and the Taliban. Maybe this recent development would mark the beginning of better relations.

Most notably, the Trump administration just deposited $397 million with Pakistan in payment for an American-sponsored program to monitor Pakistani military use of F-16 fighter aircraft.

The move is a gesture of good fellow ship toward America in appreciation of the strategic importance of Pakistan in the war on terror and to foster stability in the region. Islamabad was already experiencing a series of setbacks in defense ties with Washington, especially following the 2016 freeze in military aid and refusal of a subsidy on the sale of F-16 fighter jets. This erosion of the policy is being interpreted by some analysts as an indication that both countries are eager to revive relations in the common interest of the security needs of both sides. For Pakistan, the step is at a crossroads. As the nation is economically and politically ill, increased military involvement with America is security- and strategy-beneficial. In an environment of increased terrorist activity throughout Pakistan and Afghanistan, and from the Islamic State and Pakistani Taliban in particular, increased counterterrorism collaboration is still warranted.

While the welcome billboards glow so brightly, the extent to which short-term collusiveness in U.S.-Pakistan relations can be rewarded by more widespread realignment is uncertain. Political pundits are hesitant to make projections on longer-term success with the inconsistency Trump foreign policy course being a chronic conditionality. Again, those Pakistani issues pertaining to its out-of-pattern conduct against India and engagement to domestic terror can be problematic hurdles on a step further in coordination with Washington.

But while effective coordination of Sharifullah’s arrest demonstrates the ability of the U.S. and Pakistan to set aside their animosity in the name of regional and international stability for cooperation against terrorism, the two countries also now have the chance to take that success as the launching pad for starting the process of establishing a stronger, mutually rewarding relationship while the greater geopolitics play out.

The shifting dynamics of the US-Pakistani relationship over the coming few months will better indicate the contours of the international counterterrorism policy of the future and the respective roles that the two nations can play towards making the region at peace. To what extent cooperation is taken up from the intelligence and military domains to the economic and political levels is uncertain, but at least the door finally appears a fraction ajar towards greater cooperation.