US denies leaving any weapons in Afghanistan during pullout

WASHINGTON: The United States has rejected Pakistan’s statements about the weapons American troops had allegedly left in Afghanistan before pulling out of the war-ravaged country.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said America did not leave behind any military equipment for terrorist organisations in Afghanistan.

His remarks came after Pakistan’s Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar and Ambassador Masood Khan had reportedly said the weapons left behind by America had fallen into the hands of terrorists.

Kirby said the US had left only a limited amount of equipment and aircraft in Kabul. At the airport, he said, America had left trucks, and technical and firefighting equipment.

When a journalist drew his attention to reports that the $7 billion worth of weapons in Afghanistan had fallen into the hands of terrorists, the National Security Council spokesman said the military equipment being talked about had been actually handed over to the Afghan defence forces.

All that military equipment was for the Afghan defence forces, as it was the US mission to build their capacity and enable them to fulfil their country’s security responsibility themselves, said Kirby. He said it the Afghan forces themselves that had abandoned that equipment.

Pakistan has been facing threats of terrorism for a long time, and one significant reason for this is its border with Afghanistan, he remarked.

When asked why President Joe Biden had said Pakistan was the most dangerous country having nuclear weapons, Kirby said President Biden realizes Pakistan is still facing threats and is committed to continuing cooperation with Pakistan. He said the US would continue to work on all issues with Pakistan, including current security threats.

When asked if President Biden would discuss Kashmir and human rights violations in India during the G20 summit, and how the White House viewed the fact that Pakistan had proposed multiple times to engage in dialogue with India, he said Pakistan and India had to talk on all issues themselves.

Discussing human rights violations is an essential part of President Biden’s foreign policy and he will never shy away from talking about human rights violations.

He said President Biden talked about human rights violations during Indian Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Washington and he would not refrain from discussing the issue during his visit to India.