US-made weapons, military gear seized at Pak-Afghan border
Pakistan
Terrorists are using these arms in Pakistan; Kabul fails to act against TTP despite repeated demands
TORKHAM/PESHAWAR (Dunya News/Web Desk) – A large quantity of US-made weapons were seized at Pakistan-Afghanistan border, just a day after a terrorist attack claimed the lives 23 soldiers in Dera Ismail Khan, as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa grapples with a worsening law and order situation.
Read more: DI Khan: 23 military men martyred, over two dozen terrorists eliminated
Customs officials and security forces foiled the last arms trafficking bid at Torkham – a border town and crossing point located around 55 kilometres west of Peshawar – after earlier reports made it clear that the US weapons are being used in terror activities in Pakistan.
A variety of weapons – including military-grade assault rifles like M4, night vision equipment, laser devices and thousands of rounds – are among the items recovered from a vehicle which was seemingly transporting onions.
In this connection, the driver has been arrested and shifted to some undisclosed location for interrogation during which it is expected that important information about the source and the destination would be obtained.
On Tuesday, Pakistan demanded the Taliban government in Afghanistan to apprehend and hand over the perpetrators of the grisly suicide bombing in Dera Ismail Khan.
The responsibility for the deadly suicide attack was claimed by the Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), a terrorist outfit affiliated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The cross-border trafficking and use of US-made arms against security forces and law enforcers completely negates the claims made by the Taliban’s Afghanistan interim government which says that Afghan soil isn’t being used against Pakistan.
Islamabad has been urging Kabul to act and take concrete steps against the TTP while also stopping the arms smuggling into Pakistan.
The latest seizure of arms comes as Pakistan has shared the evidence of Afghan nationals’ involvement in terrorism acts and the use of US weapons in the past as well.
A report had earlier revealed that the weapons left in Afghanistan by the United States and NATO forces were a serious threat to the regional security.
Read more: Weapons left in Afghanistan are serious threat to regional peace
Security forces have seized these weapons from several locations during intelligence-based or clearance operations in recent months, as It is estimated that the US-manufactured weapons worth $ 7.12 billion were left in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal from the country in August 2021.
