Pakistani Officials Announce Seizure Of US Weapons At Torkham Crossing
Pakistani customs officials announced the discovery and seizure of a shipment of weapons left behind by US forces in Afghanistan at the Torkham crossing.
Pakistani customs officials announced the discovery and seizure of a shipment of weapons left behind by US forces in Afghanistan at the Torkham crossing.
American media outlet The Media Line wrote that Pakistani officials believe the weapons were supposed to be delivered to militant groups in Pakistan.
News International, a Pakistani media outlet, reported on Tuesday that Mohammad Omar Jan, the head of Torkham Customs, said at a press conference that a team intercepted a coal truck coming from Afghanistan after receiving reliable information.
According to officials, 15 M4 rifles, 170 magazines and more than 5,100 rounds of ammunition were transported in the vehicle. The value of these weapons is estimated at 35 million Pakistani rupees, equivalent to more than $126,000.
Pakistani customs officials have also released a picture of the weapons.
The Media Line, an American media outlet, wrote in its report that Pakistani officials believe that these weapons were supposed to be delivered to various groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Officials said that the driver and his companion were detained and taken to an undisclosed location for questioning.
"The seized weapons include assault rifles, pistols, night vision instruments, thousands of bullets and other modern weapons," a Pakistani customs official told The Media Line.
The seizure of a significant cache of US weapons a day before the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conference in Islamabad has been described as a "major anti-terrorist" operation.
Earlier, US weapons were found in the possession of Pakistani Taliban militants. Pakistani security officials and political leaders have long insisted that US-made weapons and ammunition left over in Afghanistan are being used in attacks on Pakistan.
In December last year, Pakistani security forces announced the seizure of advanced US weapons from a shipment entering Afghanistan at the Torkham crossing.
In April 2022, a research centre for security issues in Canada said in a report that the market for smuggling US-made weapons from Afghanistan to Pakistan has boomed.
US officials said that after the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan and the Taliban's takeover in August 2021, $7.2 billion worth of US weapons and military equipment remained in Afghanistan.
Reports of cross-border smuggling of US weapons and the use of these weapons against security and law enforcement forces in Pakistan contradict the Taliban's claims that there is no threat from Afghan soil to neighbouring countries, especially Pakistan.
Pakistani officials have repeatedly criticised the TTP for killing its soldiers using night-vision cameras and weapons left behind by US forces in Afghanistan.
