ISLAMABAD: A top US official said on Wednesday no military equipment had been left behind by American forces in Afghanistan, in response to a question about reports that $7 billion worth of weapons reportedly were abandoned in the war-torn country when US forces withdrew in August 2011.
The comments by John Kirby, US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication, came days after Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said US military equipment left behind during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan was now “emerging as a new challenge” for Islamabad as it had enhanced the fighting capabilities of the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The TTP, which has been fighting the Pakistani state since 2007, has intensified attacks on security forces since late last year and are a separate but allied group of the Afghan Taliban.
The remarks also came on the same day four Pakistani soldiers were killed during an attack on two military check posts by a “large group of terrorists” that the army said was equipped with “latest weapons.”
“There was no equipment left behind by American forces,” Kirby said in response to a question at a press briefing.
“The equipment that people are saying the Americans left behind, that was equipment that was transferred well in advance of our departure to the Afghan National Security Forces. … because that was part of the mission that our troops were involved in Afghanistan to do in the first place, which was to train up and to support Afghan national security forces as they took charge of security in their country.”
Kirby said as the Taliban advanced on Kabul and other places throughout the country after the US withdrawal, the Afghan National Security Forces, and not the US, abandoned that equipment.
Speaking to foreign media journalists at his office on Monday in Islamabad, Kakar did not provide evidence to support his allegation that the TTP were using American weapons but called for a “coordinated approach” to tackle the challenge of the leftover equipment.
“We are not accusing the US of anything that we would need to share evidence (for),” Kakar said when asked if Pakistan had presented evidence to Washington that its military equipment was now being used against Pakistan.
The US withdrawal from Afghanistan two years ago was widely viewed as “chaotic,” with Afghan security forces, built and trained at a two-decade cost of $83 billion, collapsing quickly and completely after, and the Afghan Taliban capturing an array of modern military equipment.
US denies leaving military equipment in Afghanistan amid fears weapons with Pakistani Taliban
https://arab.news/9ensk
US denies leaving military equipment in Afghanistan amid fears weapons with Pakistani Taliban
- Pakistani PM has said US military equipment left in Afghanistan had enhanced the fighting capabilities of TTP
- Four soldiers killed in northern Pakistan on Wednesday by militants the army said carried “latest weapons”
Pakistan, global crypto exchange discuss modernizing digital payments, creating job prospects
- Pakistani officials, Binance team discuss coordination between Islamabad, local banks and global exchanges
- Pakistan has attempted to tap into growing crypto market to curb illicit transactions, improve oversight
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s finance officials and the team of a global cryptocurrency exchange on Friday held discussions aimed at modernizing the country’s digital payments system and building local talent pipelines to meet rising demand for blockchain and Web3 skills, the finance ministry said.
The development took place during a high-level meeting between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal bin Saqib, domestic bank presidents and a Binance team led by Global CEO Richard Teng. The meeting was held to advance work on Pakistan’s National Digital Asset Framework, a regulatory setup to govern Pakistan’s digital assets.
Pakistan has been moving to regulate its fast-growing crypto and digital assets market by bringing virtual asset service providers (VASPs) under a formal licensing regime. Officials say the push is aimed at curbing illicit transactions, improving oversight, and encouraging innovation in blockchain-based financial services.
“Participants reviewed opportunities to modernize Pakistan’s digital payments landscape, noting that blockchain-based systems could significantly reduce costs from the country’s $38 billion annual remittance flows,” the finance ministry said in a statement.
“Discussions also emphasized building local talent pipelines to meet rising global demand for blockchain and Web3 skills, creating high-value employment prospects for Pakistani youth.”
Blockchain is a type of digital database that is shared, transparent and tamper-resistant. Instead of being stored on one computer, the data is kept on a distributed network of computers, making it very hard to alter or hack.
Web3 refers to the next generation of the Internet built using blockchain, focusing on giving users more control over their data, identity and digital assets rather than big tech companies controlling it.
Participants of the meeting also discussed sovereign debt tokenization, which is the process of converting a country’s debt such as government bonds, into digital tokens on a blockchain, the ministry said.
Aurangzeb called for close coordination between the government, domestic banks and global exchanges to modernize Pakistan’s payment landscape.
Participants of the meeting also discussed considering a “time-bound amnesty” to encourage users to move assets onto regulated platforms, stressing the need for stronger verifications and a risk-mitigation system.
Pakistan has attempted in recent months to tap into the country’s growing crypto market, crack down on money laundering and terror financing, and promote responsible innovation — a move analysts say could bring an estimated $25 billion in virtual assets into the tax net.
In September, Islamabad invited international crypto exchanges and other VASPs to apply for licenses to operate in the country, a step aimed at formalizing and regulating its fast-growing digital market.
