The Ministry of Foreign Relations has expressed serious concerns about the advanced military team that remains in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of the American troop in August 2021, which according to the reports has been used by terrorist groups, including the Pakistan Tehreek-E-Taliban (TTP), in attacks on the Pakistani soil.
Fo spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan highlighted the security risks that these weapons represent, emphasizing that they have become a source of concern for the security of Pakistan and its citizens.
In a statement on Wednesday, Khan reiterated that Pakistan had continually urged the authorities in Kabul to take all necessary measures to prevent these weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists.
The US military team, which includes airplanes, air to land, vehicles and communication equipment, was left behind after the withdrawal of the coalition led by the United States.
The Taliban quickly took control of much of the military hardware, further exacerbating Pakistan’s security challenges.
The problem caught the attention after the former president of the United States, Donald Trump, in a recent public concentration, threatened to cut the financial aid to Afghanistan if the Taliban did not return the military team.
“If we are going to pay billions of dollars a year, tell them that we will not give them the money unless they return our military team,” Trump said, reiterating the position of his administration on the matter.
However, the Taliban have refused to return the team and, instead, urged the United States to provide more advanced armament to combat Da’ish.
The United States Department of Defense reported in 2022 that the military team worth $ 7 billion was left behind in Afghanistan, a large part of which was quickly captured by the Taliban combatants while sweeping the country.
While US forces made efforts to dismantle or destroy part of their machinery in the last weeks of extraction, a significant amount of military hardware still fell into Taliban hands.
The chaotic nature of the withdrawal of the United States has been highly criticized. While it was during the Trump administration that the United States signed an agreement with the Taliban for the withdrawal of troops, it was the administration of President Joe Biden that carried out the agreement.
The sudden collapse of the Afghan government and the rapid retaken of power by the Taliban in August 2021 were fogged by chaos scenes, culminating in a bombardment of mortal suicide at Kabul airport, which claimed the life of 13 US troops and dozens of Afghan civilians.
