The Taliban’s takeover of Kabul has deepened the mutual distrust between the U.S. and Pakistan, two putative allies who have tangled over Afghanistan. Both sides need one another.

As the Biden administration looks for ways to end terrorist threats to Afghanistan, they will likely turn to Pakistan. Pakistan is still critical to U.S. intelligence. This country’s close proximity to Afghanistan as well as its links to Taliban leaders makes it vital to U.S. national security and intelligence.

American officials have accused Pakistan of being a double-dealer over two decades of conflict. They promised to combat terrorism, cooperate with Washington and cultivate the Taliban and other extremists who attacked U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Islamabad also pointed out the failed promises made by a Kabul government following the fall of the Taliban. The Taliban fled to eastern Afghanistan, where they launched devastating attacks on Pakistan.

However, the U.S. is seeking Pakistani assistance in anti-terrorism efforts. They could ask permission for surveillance flights to Afghanistan. Pakistan is keen to have good relations with Washington and U.S. military support, while its leaders are openly celebrating the Taliban’s victory.

Pakistan’s role in logistics has been crucial for U.S. military operations over the past 20 years. The problem is not that there’s been a lot more trust, said U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois, who serves on the House Intelligence Committee. I think that the real question is how we can move past this history and reach a new understanding.

Both former diplomats and intelligence officials from each country claim that cooperation is severely constrained by Pakistani persistent rivalry with India and the recent events. New Delhi was a strong supporter of the Afghan government. It routinely accused Pakistan, who it claimed, harbored the Taliban. American officials suspect that officials in the Taliban government are connected to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, a spy agency.

Husain Haiqani, an ex-ambassador of Pakistan in the United States, stated that he could understand the desire of both Pakistani and American officials to exploit the current situation and seek common ground. Haqqani stated that he expects Pakistan to offer “all possible cooperation” to the Taliban.

Haqqani at the Hudson Institute said, “This is a moment Pakistan had been waiting for twenty years.” “They feel they now have a satellite country.”

U.S. officials are trying to quickly build what President Joe Biden calls an “over the horizon” capacity to monitor and stop terrorist threats.

Without Afghanistan as a border country, surveillance drones must be flown long distances by the U.S., which limits their ability to observe targets. In addition to losing most of its intelligence and network partners, the U.S. lost most of their informants in the deposed Afghan government. It is therefore crucial that the U.S. finds common ground with other countries who have greater resources.

Pakistan may be able to help in this effort by permitting “overflight” rights of American spy planes flying from the Persian Gulf, or allowing the U.S. surveillance and counterterrorism units along its borders with Afghanistan. Afghanistan has few options. Iran is an adversary of the United States. The Russians have varying degrees in control over the Central Asian countries that are north of Afghanistan.

So far, there aren’t any agreements. According to a Pakistani government release, CIA Director William Burns was in Islamabad this month to meet General Qamar Javed Baswa, Pakistan’s Army Chief, and Lieutenant-General Faiz Hameed who heads the ISI. Burns and Hameed also visited Kabul recently to speak with Taliban leaders. The CIA refused to comment.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, noted that Islamabad has cooperated with the U.S. to help facilitate peace negotiations before the Taliban overthrow and that the country had complied to all U.S. military demands throughout the conflict.

“We have often been criticized for not doing enough,” Qureshi told The Associated Press on Wednesday. We have not received enough appreciation for what we did.

Qureshi could not be reached for comment on whether Pakistan will allow surveillance equipment to be based there or the flight of drones over Pakistan.

He said that the U.S. does not need to physically be present to exchange intelligence. There are better ways to do it.

The CIA and ISI have a long history in Afghanistan, dating back to their shared goal of arming bands of mujahedeen — “freedom fighters” — against the Soviet Union’s occupation in the 1980s. Through Pakistan, the CIA sent money and weapons into Afghanistan.

Osama bin Laden was one of those fighting men. Some would be leaders of the Taliban. They won the civil war of 1996 and took over most of the country. Bin Laden, along with other al-Qaida leaders, was given refuge by the Taliban. The Taliban launched deadly attacks against Americans overseas in 1998.

Following 9/11, the United States sought Pakistan’s assistance in fighting al-Qaida. The National Security Archive at George Washington University has released declassified cables that show how officials from President George W. Bush made several demands to Pakistan. These included intercepting weapons shipments headed to al-Qaida and providing intelligence to the U.S. and allowing them to fly intelligence aircrafts and military planes above its territory.

The CIA launched hundreds of drone attacks from Pakistan, targeting al-Qaida leaders as well as others who were allegedly connected to terrorist organizations. As per figures collected by observers outside the country, hundreds died from these strikes. The incident sparked widespread protests and anger within Pakistan.

After U.S. support, the Taliban were driven from Kabul by the U.S.-backed alliance, Pakistan continued to be accused. In 2011, U.S. Special Forces executed a secret attack on an Abbottabad compound, which was home to bin Laden’s military academy. In 2011, the U.S. special forces attacked a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. This raid angered Pakistanis and raised suspicions about whether Pakistan harboured bin Laden.

After collecting additional evidence that Pakistani intelligence officers had helped the Taliban to move fighters and money into a growing insurgency, CIA officials attempted to confront them for years. Douglas London was responsible for the CIA’s South Asia counterterrorism operations until 2018.

They would reply, “You come to my office and tell me the exact location,” he explained. “They’d usually give lip service to us, and then say that they couldn’t verify the information.”

London, author of the forthcoming book “The Recruiter,” said he expected American intelligence would consider limited partnerships with Pakistan on mutual enemies such as al-Qaeda or Islamic State-Khorasan, which took responsibility for the deadly suicide attack outside the Kabul airport last month during the final days of the U.S. evacuation.

London explained that “your adversary is often as dangerous as the enemy you are pursuing.”