Sophisticated American military equipment left behind during the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan is increasingly being used by militants in Pakistan, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), according to a Washington Post investigation.
Weapons such as M16 rifles, PVS-14 night-vision devices and thermal optics—originally intended for Afghan forces—have appeared in recent cross-border attacks. The March 11 bombing of the Jaffar Express train involved US-origin rifles, Pakistani authorities confirmed.
Investigators cited serial numbers on two rifles used in that attack that were traced back to US military stockpiles. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) estimates around 250,000 firearms and 18,000 night-vision systems were left behind, an arsenal comparable to that of the US Marine Corps.
“The presence of US advanced weapons… has been an issue of profound concern for the safety and security of Pakistan,” the Pakistani Foreign Ministry stated in documents from January seen by investigators.
US President Donald Trump reignited scrutiny in February, saying, “We left billions, tens of billions of dollars’ worth of equipment behind… all the top-of-the-line stuff.” However, Pentagon officials downplayed the scale of the problem, describing recovered weapons as “a minuscule portion” of the overall abandoned arsenal.
