John Kirby, the White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, stated that he was unaware of reports regarding the use of US weapons in attacks against Pakistani security forces.
Kirby also called the claims about leaving US weapons in Afghanistan a "fallacy and farce".
Following the increase in attacks by militant groups, especially the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) against Pakistan security forces, some officials in the country claimed that US weapons left in Afghanistan were used in such attacks.
Last month, Pakistani media outlets quoted officials of the country, as saying that weapons left in Afghanistan, including those of the United States, were utilised in an attack on a training air base in Mianwali, Punjab.
Pakistan’s Interim Prime Minister, Anwar Haq Kakar, had also said that weapons left by the US in Afghanistan are used against Pakistan, China, Iran, and other countries in the region.
Kakar added that the new and advanced US equipment in Afghanistan can be dangerous for the regional countries. According to him, the US’ hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan resulted in weapons from the former government and American forces falling into the hands of various armed groups beyond the Taliban.
On Tuesday, Kirby said that he didn’t see the reports about the use of US weapons in Pakistan and could not verify them.
However, he explained that the US forces did not leave any equipment in Afghanistan, and the weapons that reached the hands of the Afghan Taliban belonged to the security forces of the previous government.
He added that the 20-year presence of the US in Afghanistan was armed and helped to equip the Afghan national security forces.
Kirby said that as the Taliban advanced, many former Afghan security forces decided not to fight and laid down their weapons.
Last week, Pakistani security forces announced the seizure of advanced US weapons from an incoming shipment from Afghanistan at the Torkham crossing.
According to Torkham customs officials, these weapons include AK-47s, grenades, night vision devices and thousands of bullets.
Pakistani security forces announced the seizure of these smuggled weapons just a day after a terrorist attack in Dera Ismail Khan resulted in the death of 23 Pakistani soldiers.
According to a Pentagon report, the US provided $18.6 billion worth of military equipment to the Afghan national army and security forces from 2005 to August 2021.
According to reports, after the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan, equipment valued at 7.12 billion dollars remained in the country.
