Smuggled US-made weapons intercepted at Pakistan-Afghanistan border
Pakistani sources reveal that a large cargo of American weapons was discovered and confiscated from smugglers while entering Pakistan.
The independent reports that the shipment was discovered by Pakistani security sources at the Torkham crossing on Wednesday, December 13.
According to Pakistani sources, the cargo included American M4 weapons, Kalashnikovs, night vision cameras, laser beams, grenades, and thousands of bullets. The final destination of the shipment remains unknown.
These weapons were hidden among sacks of onions in a cargo truck and upon inspection, the Pakistani police confiscated the truck and arrested the driver.
Pakistani officials have said that the attempt to smuggle modern American weapons from Afghanistan to Pakistan refutes the Taliban's claim that they do not use Afghan soil against Pakistan.
Islamabad has asked the Afghan Taliban to stop arms smuggling to Pakistan and to take specific steps against the activities of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in Afghanistan.
This is amid the fact that exactly one month ago, the Pakistani media, Tribune, citing a senior security official in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa state, reported that terrorist groups in that state had acquired advanced American weapons.
This claim was announced after two police officers were killed in that area at night with weapons equipped with night vision cameras.
Pakistani security officials have repeatedly claimed that American weapons have fallen into the hands of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and around the Afghanistan-Pakistan border which has bolstered the positions of this insurgent group.
The sale and smuggling of American weapons on the borders of Afghanistan started more than two years ago since the withdrawal of the American forces.
It was following the departure of U.S. forces that the US special inspector for the reconstruction of Afghanistan announced that US military equipment worth seven billion dollars remained in Afghanistan.
The Washington Examiner also reported that more equipment worth 18 billion dollars was given to the Afghan National Army, whose fate was not known after the collapse of the republican government.
During the past two years, following the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, several reports of black market sales of American military equipment in the border areas of Afghanistan were published in the media.
However, some American officials have denied the presence of American weapons in Afghanistan. The Taliban have always denied the claim of smuggling American weapons from Afghanistan.
