AROUND half of the nearly one million pieces of weaponry and military equipment, which the Afghan Taliban obtained following the United States’ hasty departure in 2021, have been lost, sold or smuggled to militant groups, BBC News reported.

The report comes days after the publication of a Washington Post investigation, which found that the weapons used by terrorists in the recent Jaffar Express hijacking included US-made arms left behind in Afghanistan.

Among the weapons abandoned by Afghan forces or simply left behind by US personnel were firearms, such as M4 and M16 rifles, as well as other older weapons in Afghan possession that had been left behind from decades of conflict.

At the closed-door UN Security Council’s Sanctions Committee in Doha late last year, the Afghan Taliban admitted that at least half of this equipment is now “unaccounted” for, BBC quoted sources as saying.

Afghan Taliban rep admitted at a closed-door meeting that around half of the equipment left behind after US withdrawal is ‘unaccounted for’

A person from the committee said they had verified with other sources that the whereabouts of half a million items was unknown. Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for the Taliban government, told the BBC they took the protection and storage of weapons very seriously.

“All light and heavy weapons are securely stored. We strongly reject claims of smuggling or loss,” he said.

A former journalist in the city of Kandahar told the BBC that an open arms market existed there for a year after the Taliban takeover, but has since gone underground via the messaging service WhatsApp. On it, wealthy individuals and local commanders trade new and used US weapons and equipment - mostly the weapons left by US-backed forces. The Afghan Taliban regularly parades US weapons, including at Bagram Airfield, which served as the main US-Nato base, and frame them as symbols of victory and legitimacy.

The Taliban has showcased some of this captured equipment in propaganda videos, but their ability to operate and maintain advanced machinery, such as Black Hawk helicopters, is limited due to a lack of trained personnel and technical expertise. Much of this sophisticated equipment remains non-operational.

However, the Taliban have been able to utilise more straightforward equipment, like Humvees and small arms, in their operations.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that he will reclaim weapons from Afghanistan. He said that $85bn (£66bn) of advanced weaponry was left there.

“Afghanistan is one of the biggest sellers of military equipment in the world, you know why? They’re selling the equipment that we left,” Trump said during his first cabinet meeting of the new administration.

In response to Trump’s comments, Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesperson, told Afghan state TV: “We seized these weapons from the previous administration and will use them to defend the country and counter any threats.”

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2025