US-made weapons being used by terrorists against Pakistan

• US-made weapons used in Turbat, Mianwali airbase attack: sources.
• Security forces recover M32 grenade launchers, assault rifles.
• Pentagon confirms leaving behind 300,000 weapons in Afghanistan.
  

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan has witnessed a significant surge in terrorist attacks in recent months resulting in precious loss of lives owing to the targeting of civilians as well as security forces by the militant groups across the country.

However, a worrying development in recent months is the increasing use of foreign weapons, including those leftover by the United States in Afghanistan, by terrorist organisations such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Balochistan Liberation Army and others.

Pakistan has time again complained of modern weapons falling into the hands of militants owing to the hasty withdrawal of the US forces from Afghanistan — a claim vehemently denied by Washington.

Nevertheless, details regarding the weapons and equipment confiscated by the security forces indicate that the militants have been using US-made weapons in their attacks inside Pakistan in recent months.

Security sources have said that the terrorists involved in the recent Turbat attack were armed with US-made weaponry including an M32 multi-shot grenade launcher and M16A4 assault rifle.

On January 27 earlier this year, US-made weapons were also recovered from a terrorist named Naik Minallah in North Waziristan.

Before that, security forces had recovered the same kind of weaponry from militants behind the terrorist attack in Sambaza, Zhob, on January 22.

Separately, weapons seized from militants at the Pak-Afghan border on January 19 were also foreign-made, the sources added.

Before that, security forces had recovered AK-47 and M4 Carbine assault rifles along with ammunition from terrorists in Mir Ali on December 29 last year.

The terrorists, in the same month, had used night vision goggles and US-made assault rifles during their attack in Dera Ismail Khan's Daraban area on December 12.

Despite customs and security officials recovering modern US-made weapons from a car that had entered Pakistan from Afghanistan on December 13, the terrorists carried out another attack in Tank on December 15 using advanced US weaponry.

Furthermore, militants had used US-made weapons to attack two Pakistani checkposts in Chitral and Mianwali airbase on September 6 and November 4, respectively.

In July 2023, the TTP militants had used US-made weapons to attack the Zhob Garrison as well.

According to EurAsian Times, militants belonging to the proscribed TTP are still using US-made weapons to carry out attacks in Pakistan.

The report isn't surprising as the Pentagon has itself confirmed that out of the 427,300 weapons that Washington had provided to the Afghan forces, around 300,000 weapons were "left behind" when its forces withdrew from the wartorn country in August 2021.