Terrorists who attacked the Jaffar Express train in Balochistan last month used weapons left behind when United States forces withdrew from Afghanistan, an investigation by The Washington Post revealed on Monday.
According to The Post, an M4A1 carbine rifle built by American manufacturer Colt was recovered from the site of the attack. The rifle’s serial number indicated that it was part of billions of dollars worth of weaponry sent to US forces in Afghanistan, who abandoned much of their equipment when withdrawing in 2021.
“Many of the weapons wound up across the border in Pakistan, at arms bazaars and in the hands of insurgents, illustrating how the consequences of America’s failed war continue to reverberate years after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban,” The Washington Post wrote.
US rifles, machine guns and night-vision goggles, originally meant to help stabilise Afghanistan, are now being used by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other groups to carry out attacks, The Post reported citing weapons traders and government officials.
The Post added that in May 2024, Pakistani officials gave the paper access to dozens of weapons that they said were seized from captured or dead terrorists.
After months of inquiries, the US Army and the Pentagon confirmed to The Post that 63 of the weapons that were shown to reporters had been provided by the US government to Afghan national forces. Most of the weapons were M16 rifles, alongside several more modern M4 carbines.
Pakistani officials also displayed a handful of PTV14 night-vision devices, which are widely used by the US military but The Post could not independently verify them as former US government property.
“After the Jaffar Express attack Pakistani officials provided serial numbers for three American rifles allegedly used by the attackers,” The Post wrote.
“At least two came from US stocks and had been provided to Afghan forces,” the paper added, citing records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
The Post added that US President Donald Trump has threatened to permanently cut suspended aid to Afghanistan unless the Taliban returns the military equipment.
“We left billions, tens of billions of dollars’ worth of equipment behind … all the top-of-the-line stuff,” Trump said during his first cabinet meeting in February. ̶0;I think we should get a lot of that equipment back.”
“His remarks have reignited hope in Islamabad that the United States will move more decisively to account for its missing military gear,” The Post wrote. However, “most believe it is already too late to stem the flow of illicit arms”. “They’re now the property of Afghanistan,” Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, said in response to Trump. “No one can take them away from us.”
