Opinion by Hamid Mir • Yesterday 4:39 pm
In 2015, Pakistan’s army declared victory in its fight against terrorism. Eight years later, Pakistan is once again under attack. There were more than 150 attacks against the Pakistan Army and police by the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) in 2022. The first month of 2023 saw 44 attacks by TTP in which 134 people were killed. Taliban used US-made sophisticated weapons in many attacks against Pakistani security forces. These weapons were left behind by the US and NATO forces during their withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Many weapons were sold to arms dealers by the soldiers and officers of the Afghan National Army, which collapsed after the fall of Kabul. The US gave a total of $18.6 billion of equipment to the Afghan Defense Forces between 2005 and 2021. Approximately, $7 billion of military equipment the US transferred to Afghan Defense Forces over 16 years was left behind in Afghanistan after the US completed its withdrawal from the country in August 2021. This equipment went into the hands of Afghan Taliban and TTP.
The Pakistan Army has launched a new operation in areas bordering Afghanistan after recent suicide bombing in a Peshawar mosque which killed more than 100 people. Most of the victims were police personnel who were offering their afternoon prayers. The mosque was located inside a highly protected police compound.
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