India's strong response to US after it hails Pakistan for its 'fight against terrorism', reminds Washington of Osama Bin Laden: 'None of us has...'

After a top commander of the United States Army hailed "phenomenal partner" Pakistan for its "fight against terrorism", India on Thursday, i.e., June 12, very clearly reminded Washington DC that its western neighbour had given shelter to infamous terrorist Osama Bin Laden. 

Laden, the mastermind behind deadly 9/11 attacks, was killed by the US forces in Pakistan's Abbottabad in 2011. Meanwhile, India also highlighted that the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack had only been an addition to Islamabad's long list of terrorist attacks in India launched by outfits based in the neighbouring country. 

“We all know the Pahalgam attack is only the most recent example of cross-border terrorism,” Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said during a media briefing, adding that Pak's track record as an exporter of terrorism to India is not a secret. 

“I would remind you that only recently, the conspirator of 26/11, Tahawwur Rana, was extradited from the US. Obviously, none of us has forgotten that Pakistan gave shelter to Osama Bin laden. It is significant that the person, Dr Shakil Afridi, who helped locate Osama bin Laden, is still imprisoned by the Pakistani military,” Jaiswal added. 

'A phenomenal partner'

General Michael Kurilla, the commander of the United States Central Command (Centcom), on Tuesday lauded the Pakistani Army for arresting Mohammed Sharifullah, a senior operational commander of the ISIS-K. Sharifullah, arrested earlier this year, had played a key role in orchestrating the suicide bombing at Abbey Gate near the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on August 26, 2021, killing 13 US soldiers and 169 Afghan civilians.

General Kurilla added that the arrest underscored Pakistan's value as a counterterrorism partner of the US. “They are in an active counterterrorism fight right now, and they have been a phenomenal partner in the counterterrorism world,” he said. 

The comments come about a month after India launched 'Operation Sindoor' to destroy nine terror camps operating in Pakistan's Punjab province and Pak-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). One of India's major military operations till date, it came in response to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 this year which had claimed 26 innocent lives.