Pakistan: Abandoned US arms from Afghanistan strengthening Baloch militants
Feb 25, 2022
Islamabad [Pakistan], February 25 : Arms abandoned by the retreating US forces and the Afghan National Army (ANA) during the Taliban assault last year have found their way to Baloch militants in Pakistan, a report has said.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants who attacked the paramilitary camps of Noshki and Panjgur in early February were armed with high-tech military gear, far superior to that carried by Pakistan army soldiers, who according to reports struggled to defend their positions at the targeted military camps, said Asia Times on Wednesday.
The attacks left at least nine Pakistani soldiers and 20 militants dead.
The BLA militants were mostly holding M-16A4 and M-4A2 rifles during the assaults, while also equipped with Dual Beam Aiming Lasers (DBALs) that can be attached to any weapon for accurate fire in the darkness.
The militants were also carrying PVS 7D head-mounted night sight devices that allowed them to accurately aim at off-guard Pakistani soldiers.
"These modern technologies are now in the hands of terrorists, which sent a warning bell to Islamabad. The terrorists were holding weapons far superior to the ones carried by Army soldiers," quoted Asia Times citing an anonymous Pakistani official.
In an October 2021 report, the New York Times revealed that American weapons and military accessories were being openly sold in shops by Afghan gun dealers who paid then-government soldiers as well as Taliban fighters for the equipment.
"The BLA had sanctuaries in Afghanistan and Iran and it was quite easy for them to get hold of this weaponry through arm-runners or from the Taliban fighters who have just pushed behind the carpet Islamabad's demand to take major action against the Baloch separatists," Mansur Khan Mahsud, executive director of the Islamabad-based FATA Research Centre (FRC), was quoted as saying.
