In an important instance of counterterrorism cooperation, Pakistan and the United States last month conducted a military operation to arrest a commander of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.
The development has drawn considerable attention from the U.S., with President Donald Trump thanking the Pakistani government for its cooperation in arresting Mohammad Sharifullah. Washington blames Sharifullah for a 2021 attack on U.S. troops at Kabul airport, which killed at least 13 U.S. soldiers and 170 Afghan nationals. His arrest signifies that counterterrorism cooperation between Pakistan and U.S. security institutions remains strong.
However, it has also drawn attention to a newly evolving dynamic that involves militant groups’ propaganda aimed at undermining the importance of counterterrorism collaboration between Pakistan and the United States.
The significance of the arrest can be gauged from the reaction it evoked in the U.S. Trump revealed the news of the arrest in his first address to Congress since taking office. U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Waltz held a telephone conversation with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to express appreciation for the country’s counterterrorism efforts. Similarly, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a statement expressing gratitude to the Pakistani government. The statement emphasized that both the U.S. and Pakistan had a “common interest in the war on terrorism.”
In light of these developments, militant groups have launched a propaganda campaign aimed at downplaying the significance of the arrest. For instance, social media groups aligned with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), such as Al-Mersaad (Al-Mirsaad), have been sharing content to diminish the arrest’s impact, identifying Sharifullah as a low-level militant. Furthermore, some even contend that Sharifullah was arrested long ago and that the news that he was arrested recently by Pakistan is false.
The Afghan Taliban’s social media cells and officials seem to have joined the TTP in its propaganda efforts regarding the arrest. Hamdullah Fitrat, a deputy spokesperson of the Afghan Taliban, claimed that ISKP maintains “centers and hideouts” inside Pakistan.
Security officials in Pakistan told The Diplomat that the TTP and Afghan Taliban’s claims over the timing of the arrest, ISKP safe havens in Pakistan, and significance of the arrest are flawed. “It is mere propaganda,” said an official on condition of anonymity. The officials said that Sharifullah was a high-profile militant responsible for the Kabul bombing, and that he was arrested in late February on a “tip-off” shared by the U.S. with Pakistan. Moreover, security sources asserted that the operation to arrest the ISKP commander was conducted solely by Pakistan’s security agencies.
The officials claimed that it was the Afghan Taliban’s incompetence and collusion that allowed thousands of ISKP and TTP militants, including Sharifullah, to walk free due a jailbreak in 2021.
The arrest of Sharifullah as a result of counterterrorism cooperation between Pakistan has taken place in the context of a highly charged militant atmosphere that exists in the AfPak region, where propaganda has become an important weapon for militants.
This is the first high-profile collaboration against militant threats in Afghanistan that has been disclosed by both Pakistan and the U.S. in recent years. The development comes at a time when the TTP, emboldened by the Afghan Taliban’s rise to power in Kabul, has ramped up attacks against Pakistan’s security agencies. According to Pakistani officials, the TTP’s rise to become one of the most prolific militant groups globally was made possible by the Afghan Taliban’s support.
This support, as per security sources, has also been crucial in developing the TTP’s narratives across social media platforms. In some cases, this happens with Kabul directly undermining the effectiveness of Pakistan’s counterterrorism operations by claiming that the country’s terrorist problem is an internal issue. The Afghan Taliban refuse to admit that the TTP operates bases in Afghanistan or that it should be called a militant organization.
Pakistan must improve its efforts to counter the TTP, Afghan Taliban, and other militant groups’ efforts aimed at undermining its operations and narrative building regarding the effectiveness of its counterterrorism.
Moreover, Pakistan should convey to Western countries, particularly the U.S., that militant threats developing in Afghanistan pose a direct threat to their security as well.
The cooperation between Pakistan and the U.S. is encouraging for Islamabad, as the country eyes more international support to tackle the threat of militancy from Afghanistan. The important question here is whether the recent operation will be a one-off event between the two countries or lead to wider counterterrorism cooperation in the coming weeks and months.
From Pakistan’s perspective, the country must maintain U.S. perceptions of Islamabad as a dependable and handy partner in the fight against terrorism.
