Trump thanks Pakistan but leaves PTI supporters reeling

United States (US) President Donald Trump thanked Pakistan for its role in arresting the mastermind behind the 2021 Kabul Airport bombing in an address to Congress, pulling off a major surprise in the country's political circles where many had expected him to admonish Pakistan for imprisoning former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Speaking to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, the US President announced the arrest and imminent extradition of the suspect, Mohammad Sharifullah.

“Three and a half years ago, ISIS terrorists killed 13 American service members and many others during the Abbey Gate bombing. Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is now on his way to face American justice. I especially want to thank the Government of Pakistan for helping to arrest this monster.”

On August 26, 2021, a bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul during the final days of the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan killed 13 American soldiers and at least 113 Afghan civilians. Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Later in the day, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also praised Pakistan for helping capture the terrorist.

Speaking on an American-based news channel on Wednesday, he said, “Special thanks to Pakistan indeed. They cooperated with us. We partnered with the Pakistanis based on intelligence,” adding that the US provided the information, and Pakistan carried out the arrest and confirmed the identity of Sharifullah. 

For some of PTI's most vocal supporters who had been promising an intervention in Imran Khan's incarceration by the American President, Trump's statement prompted a host of reactions, ranging from silence to denial. 

A PTI follower took to X (formerly Twitter), claiming that the Abbey Bomber was arrested in 2021 during Imran Khan's tenure. “The institutions kept him safe so that he could be released at the right time for a good price. There are many more such people in their custody. In that sense, the thanks should go to Imran Khan's government,” he wrote.

Shahzad Akbar wrote a lengthy article on X, where he accused Pakistan's agencies of playing a "double game" with the US. A few days earlier he had castigated supporters of the ruling PML-N for suggesting that Ukrainian President Zelensky has been "insulted" by Donald Trump because he doesn't have an army or an atom bomb. "Why don't you send one of your people to check," he tweeted, suggesting that Pakistani representatives would have been insulted too. 

Hussain Nadim, who had appeared on a podcast in February to assert that the Trump administration was giving warning "signals" to the Pakistani government, wrote now on X: "Pakistan is celebrating becoming a 'hire gun' as some kind of achievement, knowing full well the price Pakistan and its people have paid and will continue to pay for these security contracts. This isn’t progress, this is a return to Zia era." 

Former Special Assistant to Prime Minister Shahbaz Gill, who has been most active in the US in rallying support for Imran Khan's release, addressed Trump's statement after a few hours in a cryptic tweet.  "Your opponents are very cunning and deceptive. You don’t need to respond to everything, nor should you be worried. Such things happen in big battles. Some things must be ignored. You all are wise enough to understand the rest.”