Pakistan’s customs authorities have seized a significant cache of US-manufactured weapons and ammunition valued at around Rs35 million ($125,000) at a border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to Pakistani security sources on Monday.
The confiscated weapons at the Torkham border crossing in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province included M4 rifles and magazines, as per the security sources.
The smuggling of US-supplied weapons left behind in Afghanistan into Pakistan highlights the Afghan Taliban ongoing governance challenges and presents a “threat to regional stability.
The recent seizure of US-manufactured weapons raises concerns about possible Taliban support for the TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan), whether directly or indirectly, as a tactical move to exert pressure on Pakistan or enhance their influence in the region, the sources stated.
The increasing activity of terrorist groups in Afghanistan poses risks to destabilizing the entire region, potentially escalating violence, displacement, and economic difficulties.
Pakistan has experienced a surge in militant attacks, primarily in KP, perpetrated by the banned TTP and other militant groups. These attacks have targeted security force convoys, checkpoints, and involved targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcement officers and government officials in recent months.
Islamabad holds Kabul responsible for sheltering anti-Pakistan militants and asserts that it has repeatedly raised the issue of cross-border attacks with the Taliban government. However, the Taliban deny allowing Afghan soil to be used for attacks against any nation.
Afghanistan condition has wide-reaching implications for global security, Pakistani security sources said. The presence of terrorist groups and the interim Afghan government’s (IAG) continued denial of the facts could fuel international terrorism and jeopardize regional stability.
