Pakistan voices security concerns over presence of US weapons in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday voiced “profound concern” over the presence of advance United States (US) weapons in Afghanistan, which Washington has sought to be returned by Kabul’s Afghan Taliban rulers.

The weapons and equipment, coopted by the Afghan Taliban, were reportedly left behind in the aftermath of a chaotic withdrawal of US and allied forces from Afghanistan in August 2021. The previous administration of Joe Biden maintained that US forces had not left behind any equipment during the withdrawal that could be used by militants to target Pakistan.

However, President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 accused the Biden administration of giving “our military equipment, a big chunk of it, to the enemy,” conditioning Afghan aid to the return of these weapons. Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities on Wednesday called for the humanitarian aid not to be politicized.

“The presence of US advance weapons in Afghanistan, left behind in the aftermath of the withdrawal of its troops in August 2021, has been an issue of profound concern for the safety and security of Pakistan and its citizens,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.

“These weapons have been used by terrorist organizations, including the TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan], to carry out terrorist attacks in Pakistan.”

The statement came months after Pakistani security sources said custom authorities had seized a large cache of US-made weapons and ammunition worth approximately Rs35 million ($125,000) at a border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The weapons seized at the Torkham border crossing in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province included M4 rifles and magazines, security sources said in Oct. last year.

Pakistan has struggled to contain surging militancy in KP since a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban, or the TTP, and the state broke down in November 2022.

The TTP and other militant groups have frequently targeted security forces convoys and check-posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months.

In 2024 alone, the Pakistani military reported that 383 soldiers and 925 militants were killed in various clashes.

“We have been repeatedly calling upon the de facto authorities in Kabul to take all necessary measures to ensure that these weapons do not fall into the wrong hands,” the foreign office added.

The development comes at a time of strained ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Islamabad has frequently blamed the surge in militancy on Afghanistan, accusing it of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny involvement and insist that Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.