The US National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, refused allegations of leaving any weapons in Afghanistan during their military withdrawal in August 2021, labeling such claims as a “fallacy” and a “farce.”
Kirby’s remarks came just days after Pakistan’s deputy representative to the United Nations, Usman Jadoon, expressed concerns at the UN Security Council about militant groups acquiring modern weapons for terrorist activities. Jadoon called on the UN to investigate how groups like Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) acquired these weapons to destabilize his country. “Terrorists and criminals do not manufacture these arms. They acquire them from illicit arms markets or receive them from entities that want to destabilize a particular region or country,” he said.
Recently, Pakistani customs officials and security forces stopped an attempt to smuggle a large quantity of “US-made weapons” across the Torkham border from Afghanistan. According to Radio Pakistan, the hidden cache of weapons, which included M4 rifles, Kalashnikovs, magazines, night vision equipment, laser devices, and a substantial amount of ammunition, was concealed among sacks of onions in a truck.
Last February, the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) informed Congress that approximately $7.2 billion worth of military equipment, including aircraft, guns, vehicles, and specialized gear like night vision goggles and biometric devices, was abandoned in Afghanistan following the withdrawal. The Pentagon informed the Special Inspector that there “is no realistic way to retrieve the material that remains in Afghanistan, given that the United States does not recognize the Taliban as a government.”
During a press briefing on Tuesday, December 19, Kirby stated, “This is a fallacy, this is a farce. What we did, over the course of our 20 years in Afghanistan, of course, with congressional approval and consultations, was arm and help equip the Afghan national security forces,” he said. “That’s what was left behind. Not that the United States just walked away and abandoned a bunch of weapons in a pile in Afghanistan. That’s simply not historically accurate.”
Pakistan claims that members of militant groups such as TTP are taking shelter in Afghanistan, getting trained, and obtaining sophisticated US-made military weapons to destabilize the region. Pakistani Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar told reporters in September that weapons and military equipment left behind by U.S. and other foreign forces in Afghanistan are being used against Pakistan, worsening the security situation in the country. “Weapons and military equipment in Afghanistan were left unmanaged after the withdrawal of the United States and its allies.”
Former Pakistani senator and federal minister, Mohammad Ali Durrani, previously warned that the risk of another 9/11 cannot be ruled out unless the supply of the latest weaponry to terrorists is curtailed. “A new war is being orchestrated against Pakistan through the latest American arms,” he said. In such circumstances, the US should support Pakistan with the latest technology in the war against terrorism. “It is the interest of the US to play a role for peace in the region,” he said.
