WASHINGTON: The US State Department has said that cooperation between Pakistan and the United States is vital in the fight against terrorism.
Responding to a question, did anybody from the U.S. administration say thank you to Pakistan on an official level regarding the arrest of Mohammad Sharifullah, the U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that President Donald Trump thanked Pakistan.
Trump thanked Pakistan during his speech to Congress while announcing the arrest of an ISIS-K operative and planner responsible for the deaths of 13 brave American servicemembers and over 160 Afghans at Abbey Gate, she added.
“We extend our gratitude to the Government of Pakistan, we do, for their partnership in bringing Mohammad Sharifullah to justice,” she said.
She said that the arrest of this terrorist also made it clear that cooperation between the United States and Pakistan against terrorism is extremely important.
She said that she thanked the government of Pakistan for the arrest of Mohammad Sharifullah and bringing him to justice.
U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) also thanked the government of Pakistan for their partnership in bringing Mohammad Sharifullah to justice in a tweet.
Earlier, US Defense Secretary Pat Hegseth had said that the Trump administration had informed Pakistan about the terrorist Sharifullah who was arrested in Pakistan.
On the other hand, White House spokesperson Caroline Levitt had said in a press conference that ‘President Trump has brought justice to the families of the 13 American heroes killed in the Abbey Gate bombing at Kabul Airport.
According to the White House spokesperson, ‘Sharifullah first confessed to the crime before Pakistani authorities and when US officials went to Pakistan over the weekend, Sharifullah also confessed to them.’
Muhammad Sharifullah, an alleged militant of the banned ISIS organization who was arrested from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and extradited to the US, was presented in a Virginia court on Wednesday.
A federal court in Virginia has ordered his detention.
A preliminary hearing in the case will be held on March 10. If Muhammad Sharifullah is found guilty, he could face life in prison.
