ISLAMABAD: Security officials and intelligence assessments have revealedthat the Afghan Taliban regime has systematically diverted former US andNATO military equipment to anti-Pakistan militant groups since the 2021American withdrawal.
Sources within the security establishment say that some of the $7.3 billionworth of weapons, vehicles and ammunition left behind by departing USforces have been repurposed and transferred across the border to theTehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
The redistribution network reportedly began operating as early as 2015,when captured arms from Afghan battlefields were first handed to tribalmilitias. After the Taliban takeover, the flow accelerated dramatically.
Turkish-origin small arms and communication gear have been specificallyallocated, with one stream directed toward BLA fighters in Balochistan andanother to TTP units operating in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Although BLA attacks temporarily declined in the first half of 2024 becauseof internal leadership disputes, advanced US-origin rifles, night-visiondevices and anti-tank weapons continue to surface in TTP ambushes againstPakistani forces.
Military operations have recovered dozens of M4 carbines, M16 riflesconfirming the foreign origin of the insurgency’s upgraded arsenal.
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Defence analysts warn that unless the Afghan Taliban halt the supply chain,the proliferation of sophisticated weaponry will prolong instability alongthe 2,600-kilometre Durand Line and deepen regional mistrust.
Source:www.thenews.com.pk/print/1241868-us-weapons-left-in-afghanistan-reaching-ttp-bla”>https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1241868-us-weapons-left-in-afghanistan-reaching-ttp-bla
Source:https://tribune.com.pk/story/2498721/taliban-diverting-us-arms-to-ttp-ispr
