NEW DELHI: Calling Pakistan a “phenomenal partner” in counter‑terrorism, US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief General Michael Kurilla on Tuesday praised Islamabad’s role in combating ISIS-Khorasan during a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee.
Kurilla’s remarks come at a sensitive time for South Asia diplomacy, as India intensifies efforts to spotlight Pakistan’s alleged role in cross‑border terrorism following the April terror attack in Pahalgam.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, is likely to visit the US next month.
General Kurilla credited Pakistan’s military leadership, particularly Army Chief Asim Munir with efforts to disrupt ISIS-K operations in the region.
“That’s why we need to have a relationship with Pakistan and with India. I do not believe it is a binary switch: that we can’t have one with Pakistan if we have a relationship with India,” Kurilla said in response to questions from US lawmakers.
“We should look at the merits of the relationship for the positives that it has,” he added.
New Delhi has repeatedly asserted that the victim (India) and the perpetrator of terrorism (Pakistan) cannot be placed on the same footing, an apparent response to international commentary that appears to equate India and Pakistan in the context of recent military escalations.
New Delhi has also expressed frustration with what it sees as the “hyphenation” of India and Pakistan by some countries in the wake of last month’s border clashes.
There was no immediate reaction from Indian officials to Kurilla’s comments.
CENTCOM, headquartered in Florida, oversees US military operations across 21 countries in Western, Central, and South Asia—including Pakistan and Afghanistan. India, by contrast, falls under the remit of the Hawaii-based US Indo‑Pacific Command, highlighting the bifurcated nature of Washington’s regional military engagement.