US President Donald Trump has castigated both friends and foes since he has assumed office. On March 4, Trump made his maiden speech to both houses of Congress. Spanning an hour and 40 minutes, Trump's speech was the longest delivered by any US President to the Congress, and was designed to list his achievements.
He spoke on a range of issues from his crackdown on illegal immigration to imposing import tariffs and from pursuing a Russia-Ukraine peace deal to end hostilities in the Middle East. One thing was noticeable in his address that he took on both friends and adversaries. However, Pakistan was the sole exception.
"Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice," he told the US Congress, referring to the Kabul Airport attack of August 2021. "And I want to thank especially the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster," he added much to the surprise of many who thought Pakistan was no longer relevant in Washington. Trump promised to bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack that left 13 US service members dead, besides more than 170 Afghan civilians.
As per details, soon after assuming office, Trump had instructed the CIA chief to pursue the case on a priority basis. John Rectcliff, the new CIA Director, spoke to Pakistan's intelligence chief on the very second day in his office. The CIA chief asked the ISI chief to help the US arrest Muhammad Sharifullah, one of the key facilitators of the Kabul Airport bombing.
He told Lt Gen Asim Malik that if Pakistan were to seek a better relationship with the Trump administration, it should pursue this case on priority. The two spymasters subsequently met on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in mid-February. They worked from behind the scenes and Pakistan managed to nab Sharifullah from Balochistan who was extradited to the US within days of his capture, showing exemplary cooperation between the two sides.
It was such a big story for Trump that he decided to make the announcement himself and that too when the whole world was watching his address to the Congress. Soon after Trump praised Pakistan, his key cabinet members including the US National Security Adviser, the Defense Secretary and the CIA Director appeared on different American TV channels and acknowledged Pakistan's role.
Just a few days ago, it was unthinkable that President Trump would praise Pakistan publically. Following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, the future of the ties between the two sides looked bleak. With Trump's America-first policy and changing geostrategic priorities, Pakistan was no longer a priority in Washington.
Against this backdrop, Trump's public praise and positive statements by his key cabinet members constitute a miraculous development for Pakistan. Such was the impact of Pakistan's cooperation that the US National Security Adviser spoke to the Pakistani Foreign Minister after a long gap of three years.
When Pakistan's top spy agency arrested Sharifullah, it was to decide whether to announce the capture or let the US do that. After in-house consultations, Pakistani authorities decided to leave it to Washington to announce the arrest. Pakistan thought the US government might announce the big news through the White House spokesperson. But it never knew that Trump would make the announcement himself in his first address to the US Congress. More importantly, he would publicly acknowledge Pakistan's role.
Letting the US administration make the announcement worked for Pakistan. The authorities here were nervous about what Trump would bring to the table for the country in his second term. Trump's public appreciation of Pakistan has calmed the nerves in Islamabad. Even though Pakistan is not expecting a dramatic turnaround in the relationship with an unpredictable US president, it is expecting little adverse impact of his radical policies on Islamabad. That is the ultimate goal!
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