Mujahid: Weapons US, NATO left behind secured in depots

KABUL (Pajhwok): Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has strongly rejected Pakistani prime minister’s claim that arms US and NATO forces left behind in Afghanistan have fallen into militants’ hands.

Mujahid said the weapons US and NATO forces left behind during their withdrawal from Afghanistan were kept and secured in depots.

According to reports, Pakistan caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said last Saturday that different militant groups had found access to the US and NATO weapons in Afghanistan.

According to a BBC report, Kakar said: “We are already in trouble, in the future China, Iran and the central Asia will not be safe and they can face similar trouble”.

He claimed weapons and military equipment left behind by US and other foreign forces in Afghanistan were being used against Pakistan, worsening the security situation in the country.

He said many thought that the situation in Pakistan would improve after the Islamic Emirate came to power in Afghanistan, but instead it worsened.

Kakar claimed the reason for the insecurity was the seizure by various groups of weapons left behind in the hasty withdrawal of US and NATO forces two years ago.

"Weapons and military equipment in Afghanistan were left unmanaged after the withdrawal of the United States and its allies," Kakar said, adding that these weapons were dangerous for Pakistan, Central Asia, and Iran.

Kakar did not provide any evidence to support his allegation and said there was a need to adopt a "coordinated approach" to tackling the challenge of the leftover equipment.

He said Pakistan wanted a stable Afghanistan because peace and stability of Pakistan was tied up with peace and stability of Afghanistan.

According to him, both Afghanistan and Pakistan have realized this issue and were considering ways to solve it.

Zabihullah Mujahid told Pajhwok Afghan News: “We strongly reject this statement that someone can get access to weapons and equipment US and NATO forces left behind in Afghanistan, all these arms and equipment are secured and kept in the depots of intelligence, security and defense organs”.

“No one can smuggle these arms, no one can take them out of depots, the security forces of the Islamic Emirate prevent such activities”, Mujahid added.

Mjujahid said: “It is possible some weapons and equipment had fallen into the hands of smugglers when they were transported to Afghanistan through Pakistan for US forces in the past.”

He said  no one was allowed to use the soil of Afghanistan against other countries, or smuggle equipment against anyone.

aw/ma