By Ambassador Ali Siddiqui
During President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging speech to a joint session of Congress last week, he went out of his way to thank Pakistan for recently capturing the mastermind of the Kabul Airport terrorist attack that killed 13 U.S. service members in Afghanistan in 2021. In truth, the world owes President Trump a debt of gratitude for ridding the world of this menace: it was his bold and prompt decision soon after his inauguration to share with Pakistan’s leadership critical intelligence on ISIS Commander Mohammed Sharifullah’s whereabouts. Still, as a former Ambassador of Pakistan to the U.S. who coordinated counter-terrorism cooperation between our two countries, I can tell you that Mr. Trump’s words were gracious and most welcome.
It may be tempting to put Afghanistan in the rear-view mirror, especially after the capture of Sharifullah and the U.S.’ reckless and deadly withdrawal during the Biden Administration. Likewise, some may not appreciate the ongoing strategic convergence between the U.S. and Pakistan. But as the successful cross-border counterterrorism operation that caught Sharifullah demonstrates, both of these perceptions would be a mistake that would fail President Trump’s test to make America stronger and safer.
Over decades of relations, the U.S. has often relied heavily on Pakistan. In the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks, Pakistan and the United States fought a long, bloody war against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan that helped defang the terror group, which had brought death and destruction to both our countries. According to official government estimates, more than 80,000 Pakistani civilians and soldiers have been killed during the war on terror, which also caused an estimated economic loss of $123 billion for Pakistan, according to The Ministry of Finance (https://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_17/Annex_IV_War.pdf?utm_source=perplexity).
But make no mistake, there is still work ahead to be done by our two countries, particularly in finding and neutralizing wanted terrorists hiding in Afghanistan, as well as our common efforts to secure our borders. And for this latter reason, we Pakistanis again must thank President Trump for putting the issue of border security on top of the global agenda.
Pakistan has been working hard to secure our tricky border with Afghanistan, which runs through untamed tribal areas. Despite our efforts, which include thousands of miles of fencing, our long, shared border remains a dangerous transit point for drug flows, illegal immigration and extremists. This may sound familiar to the Trump team, which is urgently seeking to secure America’s borders for very much the same reasons. Pakistan—and the world—would do well to form a working group that follows President Trump’s lead in tackling our common border crises.
After all, the United States and Pakistan are not alone with massive challenges at our borders. The international order in place since the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia created a system of nation states bound by defined borders, that due to the accidents of geography, are more or less open to the flow of dangerous people and illicit products. While sovereign states can more or less control what happens inside their borders—enacting laws and enforcement institutions to protect their people—borders between nations remain a complex interdependency. We are only as strong as our weakest neighbor. As President Trump has noted, narcoterrorism and violent extremism are global problems that easily cross borders and entire regions
Afghanistan is as unruly and dangerous as ever. The extremist Taliban movement is in power. ISIS operates bases there, and there are reports that Al Qaeda is reconstituting in the lawless frontier areas and even that one of Osama bin Laden’s grown sons, Hamza, is among its leadership. Afghanistan also has a long and terrible history of opium poppy cultivation. In fact, Afghanistan produces the vast majority of illicit heroin globally, much of which has been used to fund terrorism. Much of these narcotics transit across Pakistan’s border. By way of comparison, more land in Afghanistan is used for opium production than in all of Latin America for cocaine production.
We need to secure our border, fast. While Pakistan has built nearly 2,000 miles of fence along our border, it is not enough. We need to re-invigorate the close cooperation between the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), which in the past produced great results in cross border drug interdiction and source eradication in Afghanistan. We also need to examine “smart” and “virtual” walls, integrating data collected by advanced cameras, sensors, drones, biometric information and other detection systems.
This is where the idea of an international working group comes in. It is time for a global alliance of nations to explore new ideas and best practices for securing our borders. As a designated Major Non-NATO Ally of the United States, Pakistan stands ready to participate and to learn from President Trump’s muscular, aggressive approach. Building walls does not mean confrontation or isolation. In fact, they can be a highly effective means for maintaining a nation’s sovereignty and security in the face of transnational threats. President Trump gets this. Will others?
Ali Siddiqui served as Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, and as a Cabinet-level Minister.
