Jaffar Express attackers used US weapons abandoned in Afghanistan

Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) terrorists who ambushed a Peshawar-bound train on 11 March used weapons abandoned when US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, a Washington Post investigation has revealed. An M4A1 carbine rifle, manufactured by the US company Colt, was recovered from the scene of the attack and is part of the equipment issued to US forces in Afghanistan. Terrorists from the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliates in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan use advanced US-made weapons, including PVS14 night-vision goggles, to carry out attacks, the Post reported, citing arms dealers and government officials. US military and Pentagon sources confirmed the discovery, citing M16 rifles and several M4 carbines. SIGAR estimated that more than 250,000 rifles were left behind, as well as nearly 18,000 night-vision goggles. The Foreign Office said the presence of advanced US weapons was a matter of grave concern for Pakistan’s security. Arms bazaars along the border with Afghanistan, where militants and other criminals trade, have created a market for illegal weapons, with demand soaring and prices rising. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief government spokesman, has repeatedly claimed ownership of equipment abandoned by US troops. A United Nations report last year concluded that the Afghan Taliban were supplying weapons and equipment to the outlawed TTP group, although the Taliban denied the allegations.