KABUL, Afghanistan — Five days after U.S. President Donald Trump called for the retrieval of American military equipment left in Afghanistan, the Taliban have yet to issue an official response, maintaining silence on the matter.
In a rally held on the eve of his inauguration, Trump said the U.S. will give them some money but they want their military equipment back.
A joint report by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) estimates that the value of American military equipment left behind exceeds $7 billion.
The report, published in June 2022, stated that approximately $7.12 billion worth of military assets, funded by the United States, were in the inventory of Afghanistan’s former government when it collapsed in August 2021.
These assets included $923.3 million worth of military aircraft and $294.6 million worth of related weapons systems. Additionally, the inventory listed more than 316,000 firearms, including rifles, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, and other weapons, valued at an estimated $511.8 million.
Other leftover equipment included armored vehicles, night-vision devices, and communication tools. The report highlighted that $4.12 million worth of armored vehicles, including Humvees, were in Afghanistan at the time of the government’s fall.
Concerns about the misuse of these assets have grown, as the report noted that 20 to 30 percent of the equipment had fallen into the hands of groups such as Al Qaeda in the three years prior to the Taliban takeover, according to the former chief of staff of Afghanistan’s military.
Mohammad Asif Sediqi, the former deputy speaker of the Afghan Senate, said, “A significant amount of the equipment was transferred out of Afghanistan to places like Kashmir, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, and Iran. Much of it is now in the hands of terrorist groups, creating a global security concern.”
The Taliban have not responded to questions about the current location of the equipment or claims that some of it has been used by other extremist groups.
Politically, Trump’s remarks may carry broader implications for the Taliban. Abdul Qader Zai, the former head of the secretariat for Afghanistan’s lower house of parliament, suggested that Trump’s comments were intended as leverage.
“This is a message: if our demands are not met, we want the equipment back. And if our demands are not fulfilled, we will stop financial aid,” Zai said. “It’s a way of preparing the ground for future plans that Trump, his administration, and other Americans may have for Afghanistan.”
Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, previously reported that the Taliban had rejected Trump’s request. Taliban officials reportedly stated that they require additional military aid to combat threats like ISIS-Khorasan, which has emerged as a major security challenge in the region.
