Attacks on American Eating Joints in Pakistan

During a recent visit of the a few American journalists, the public relations outfit of the Pakistani army shared the details about the weapons being recently recovered from the Baluch rebels and the TTP or Tehreek-e- Taliban Pakistan; a few days later, Pakistani foreign minister, was assured by the  US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a telephonic conversation that the US would soon be assisting Pakistani army in resolving this issue. These weapons were left behind in Afghanistan.

According to a 2023 report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, over $7 billion worth of American military equipment was still in the country. It is being estimated that more than a quarter-million rifles were left behind by US forces during their withdrawal from Afghanistan, enough to arm the entire US Marine Corps as well as nearly 18,000 night-vision goggles.

The bigger guns or missiles are being well-protected by the Taliban government in Kabul, but a large number of light machine guns and assault rifles have been pilfered and being sold in the open market. They include M-4 guns, which are considered more lethal than the AK-47. These guns are equipped with a laser system with a night vision to target the enemy with a rare precision. They could be obtained from the armament bazar at a price of 5000 USD. Similarly, the Americans have also left highly effective Polish and Swedish guns.

Even if the Afghan Taliban are not supplying these weapons to the Baluch and TTP rebels, they are now being used against the Pakistani army.  

Meanwhile, the Pakistani army has briefed the Washington Post offering details about the American weapons being used by the rebels. They have also claimed that the Baluch rebels had used the American weapons in the recent hijacking of a train in southwestern Pakistan. It is being further stated that the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) had stormed the ill-fated Jaffar Express train in holding hundreds of passengers hostage. It took 24 hours to rescue them, 33 rebels were killed and 31 others , including a few soldiers, succumbed in the operation.

In its report, Washington Post has stated that the US Army and the Pentagon confirmed that 63 weapons shown to reporters had been provided by the US government to Afghan forces. Meanwhile, a Pakistan Army major, Zaheer Hassan, has claimed that the rebels have successfully paired night vision and thermal equipment with small drones to attack troops with more precision.

The Assurance and the Sabotage

During his telephonic conversation, Marco Rubio is believed to have assured Ishaq Dar, a confidant of the GHQ in Pakistan and presently deputy prime minister holding the foreign portfolio that the US administration would try to end this pilferage.  He also had profusely thanked Pakistan for the arrest and transfer to the United States of ISIS-K operative Mohammad Sharifullah.

They also discussed briefly about Pakistan’s cooperation on law enforcement and addressing illegal immigration, and also issues related to the U.S. reciprocal tariffs on Pakistan and how to make progress toward a fair and balanced trade relationship.  Rubio also raised prospects for engagement on critical minerals and expressed interest in expanding commercial opportunities for U.S. companies.

Before this warming up of the relations between the old allies could move forward, the series of attacks on outlets of American fast food restaurant chains from Karachi to Lahore and Rawalpindi hit the headlines. It was being camouflaged as a part of an anti-Israeli campaign.

It may be noted that these attacks were being made in the well-secured areas of the prominent urban centres in Pakistan and the police did not care to book the miscreants. They had stormed an American fast food restaurant chain in Lahore’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA), American food outlets in Karachi and later now in Rawalpindi just near the headquarters of the Pakistani army.

The video clips on social media have shown a group of people attacking the KFC restaurant in the DHA’s Phase IV but there were no police to stop them. According to some eyewitnesses, when most of the attackers carrying clubs entered the KFC, shattered the glass doors and window panes, the staff and customers ran to save their lives. Interestingly, the Rawalpindi police has claimed that vandals involved in the attack have been traced through the close -circuit television cameras, but no arrests could be made.

Thus, the issue of American weapons is now again being buried under the Jihadists violence.
Gopal Misra has been associated with national and international media. His books on journalism and geo-politics have been well-appreciated. Views are personal.