ELLIE Kaufman of CNN on 28 April 2022 reported with reference to the US Department of Defence that approximately $7 billion of military equipment, the US transferred to the Afghan government over the course of 16 years, was left behind in Afghanistan after the US completed its withdrawal from the country. According to the report ‘that equipment is now in a country that is controlled by the very enemy the US was trying to drive out over the past two decades: the Taliban.’ The US Defence Department asserted in an earlier statement to the Congress that it ‘has no plans to return to Afghanistan to ‘retrieve or destroy’ the equipment.’ In the second week of November 2023, the Economic Times published an analysis with reference to a statement of Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, the caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan in which he had said that terrorists were using American-made arms against his country. He further highlighted that American-made weapons are being sold in the black market not just in Pakistan but also throughout the region as well as the Gulf countries. Astonishingly a few days back, the US authorities had rejected the idea of leaving behind any weapons during its withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The use of US weapons in terrorist attacks in Pakistan has been a frequent topic of discussion on various Pakistani and foreign TV channels. It is being said that the ‘United States had delivered a staggering 427,300 combat weapons to the Afghan military, with 300,000 remaining at the time of withdrawal, contributing to a surge in terrorism in the region over the last two years.’ A few months back the Pentagon had also disclosed that the US provided $18.6 billion in equipment to the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces between 2005 and August 2021. That equipment included aircraft, air-to-ground munitions, communications equipment, military vehicles and other war-material. With reference to the use of American weapons by terrorists, Junaid Kathju had said reporting for the NBC News on 30th January 2023, “A major reason is a regional flood of US-funded weapons that fell into the hands of the Taliban when US-led NATO forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.” Earlier, after US led NATO forces departure from Afghanistan, a spokesperson for the Pentagon Lt. Col. Rob Lodewick had said in a statement, “It is important to remember that nearly all weapons and equipment used by US military forces in Afghanistan were either retrograded or destroyed prior to our withdrawal.”
In spite of all these reports and analyses, the bitter reality is still there that the US made weapons are being used by the terrorists against Pakistan. Particularly in the past two years, there had been many incidents of terrorism in Pakistan in which the investigation agencies pointed out the use of American weapons; the list of such incidents is very long. One of such incidents occurred in February 2022, when Frontier Corps camps in Nushki and Panjgur districts were targeted allegedly by the Baluch Liberation Army employing the same arsenal of weapons. In another terrorist attack on Zhob Garrison on 12 July 2023, the terrorists were found using American weapons. On 6 September 2023 the terrorists armed with the latest American weapons assaulted two army check posts in Chitral. On 4 November 2023, Mianwali Air Base was attacked by the terrorists armed with foreign made RPG-7s, AK-74s, M-4s and M-16/A4 rifles. On 12 December, the security forces of Pakistan succeeded in trapping a group of terrorists equipped with night vision goggles and American rifles in the Daraban area of Dera Ismail Khan. On 15 of the same month three police personnel sacrificed their lives in combat with five terrorists who had in their possession modern American weapons in the Tank area. These weapons includedM16/A2 rifles, HE grenades and AK-47s; the terrorists also lost their lives in this incident.
In short the state of affairs is very complex and confusing; one can very easily feel the’ to be or not to be’ type of situation. The US says it didn’t leave any weapons at the time of its withdrawal from Afghanistan; reports say that the weapons left behind by the US forces were simply ‘of no use’ whereas circumstances prove that the terrorists are using US-made weapons in their war against Pakistan and other countries in the region. Must we hold the US responsible for the situation or the responsibility goes on to the shoulders of the Afghan government for not being able to control the terrorists; that is really an important point to be clarified. Apparently, it seems there was some mismanagement on the part of the US troops and a certainly a very serious type of mishandling of the situation by the Afghan Government, otherwise American-made weapons could never have come to the hands of the terrorists. This matter no doubt demands a very strict vigilance by the Afghan Government as the use of American-made weapons by the terrorists is defaming and damaging the immaculate repute and intentions of the US which has spent trillions of dollars on its war against terrorism. Defaming the US means damaging the US’ efforts for peace not only in Afghanistan and Pakistan but also all around the world.
—The writer is Principal of a Government College and senior columnist, based in Multan.
Email: [email protected]
views expressed are writer’s own.
