US President Donald Trump picked Pakistan to praise for its help in arresting Sharifullah, the alleged mastermind of the 2021 Kabul Airport bomb blast which killed 15 US servicemen and about 170 civilians. It may be remembered that the blast occurred at the place from which the US, the servicemen, were beating a hasty retreat. Sharifullah, whom Mr Trump described as a monster, was a leading operative of the Islamic State-Khorasan. Mr Trump announced the arrest during his address to Congress, and thanked the Pakistan government for its help making the arrest based on intelligence provided by the CIA. Maybe too much is being read into this, because it shows that the USA, like Mr Trump more generally, has a strictly transactional relationship with Pakistan. So long as US interests are served, Pakistan is in its good books. Pakistan should not get hold of the wrong end of the stick and in any way ignore terrorism it can help punish, because it is still suffering the effects of terrorism, as was seen most recently in the blast in Khuzdar, in which five people were injured.
One of the main takeaways is that Americans get their man. The most famous example must be Osama bin Laden, who was killed in 2011, nearly 10 years after 9/11. However, while it might provide some sort of satisfaction to the American psyche, to invade Afghanistan and overthrow the Taliban, they are back in power. True, in talking to the US National Security Adviser Michel Waltz, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar did discuss information technology, energy and minerals, no one should assume that all is now well. The reference to India as a country imposing “very unfair” tariffs on the USA may be welcome in Islamabad, but that should not be taken as meaning that the USA is waking up to the way India is exploiting its positive perception to disguise its human rights violations, especially in Held Kashmir and against Muslims all over India.
Pakistan should not read too much into Mr Trump’s praise. Perhaps because it should be seen as purely transactional, without leaving any residue of goodwill. Pakistan needs to be cautious about where this goes, for it must realize that it is one of China’s most reliable friends, and that there is nothing the USA would like more than to draw Pakistan away from China by suitably vague promises.
