A war may conclude with a troop withdrawal, but its weapons often continue fighting long after soldiers leave the battlefield. August 2021 departure of US and NATO forces from Af-ghanistan left behind defence equipment worth an estimated 7 billion dollars. Originally supplied to the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, this military inventory was seized by the Afghan Taliban. A significant portion has since flowed into the hands of anti-Pakistan militant groups, most notably Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), creating a grave security threat across the border.
The sheer volume of hardware left behind in 2021 remains striking. According to official SIGAR reports, NATO and US forces left behind over 167,550 rifles, 41,500 machine guns, 265 mortars and more than 40,000 military vehicles, including 12,000 Humvees. SIGAR’s final oversight report detailed further equipment that fell under Taliban control, including 78 aircraft, advanced communications gear and specialized explosive ordnance disposal tools. Multiple international assessments detail how these weapons reached violent non-state actors. UNSC Monitoring Team Report documented that mid-tier Taliban commanders supplied TTP with advanced weaponry. TTP gained direct access to former Afghan national inventory through official transfers by Taliban authorities and proliferation via regional black markets. Elements within Afghanistan’s General Directorate of Intelligence also handed over military equipment directly to terrorist groups for cross-border operations in Pakistan.
By 2025, Pakistani security forces had recovered 293 US-made weapons and optical sights from eliminated terrorists. An investigation by The Washington Post corroborated this pipe-line by matching serial numbers of at least 63 weapons seized from terrorists in Pakistan directly to US supply logs issued to pre-2021 Afghan forces. Standard infantry rifles fitted with under-barrel grenade launchers, bullet-proof jackets, night-vision goggles and laser sights are now routine. Heavy automatic weapons like the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, M240B and M2 Browning have effectively become standard issue. Beyond small arms, the availability of approximately 17,500 helmet-worn night-vision devices, thermal optics and surveillance drones reflects a massive leap in capability.
This access to advanced technology has granted terrorists night-fighting superiority, nullify-ing darkness as an advantage for security forces. Long-range night sniping has become a regular feature, making counter-terrorism operations far more difficult and costly in terms of lives. Access to advanced arms has made small militant cells better-equipped than many regular army units worldwide, increasing their operational range, precision and firepower.Yet these weapons represent only one part of a broader threat. The Afghan Taliban’s control of territory since 2021, combined with safe havens and logistical support, has allowed over 20 international and regional terrorist organizations to regroup, train and plan cross-border attacks. TTP maintains the largest presence with an estimated 6000 to 6500 fighters operating under Taliban patronage, alongside active nodes of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, ISIL-K and ETIM.
Pakistan is paying a devastating human cost for this unchecked spread of terrorism. Attacks surged from 89 in 2021 to 699 in 2025, a nearly eightfold increase. In 2025 alone, terror at-tacks killed at least 1378 Pakistanis and injured 2672 others. In 2026, the toll has already reached 1327 killed and 2484 injured. Pakistan continues to bear the blood-soaked conse-quences of abandoned weaponry and neighboring sanctuaries, underscoring an urgent need for international action to curb the flow of arms and eliminate cross-border safe havens.
The writer is an alumnus of QAU, FUI. ([email protected])
