Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in a phone call discussed the issue of American military equipment left behind in Afghanistan.
In a statement, the ministry said the two officials spoke about bilateral relations, regional security, and economic cooperation, with a particular focus on the evolving situation in Afghanistan.
“Secretary Rubio agreed on the need to resolve the issue of U.S. military equipment left behind in Afghanistan,” the statement said.
Pakistani officials have repeatedly urged Washington to take action regarding the vast quantities of military hardware abandoned after the U.S. and NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, much of which is now reportedly in the hands of the Taliban.
Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking at a press conference, said the United States might seek to recover some of the equipment, though he noted that “many of these weapons are getting old.”
The status of the remaining U.S. military assets in Afghanistan has become a growing point of concern for regional security actors, including Pakistan, which has blamed some of the Taliban-held weaponry for fueling cross-border violence and insecurity.
