The United States has said it will not give Pakistan its leftover military hardware after the completion of withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan later this year.
A statement issued by the US-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan said.“United States Forces-Afghanistan does not provide or intend to provide any such equipment, including MRAPs (mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles), from Afghanistan to Pakistan,”
The statement followed uproar in Afghanistan over reports that the US had planned to transfer some of its excess equipment to its ally Pakistan.
The upper house of Afghan parliament – Mesharno Jirga – had warned the US against the handover of hardware to Pakistan.
A resolution passed by the Afghan legislature had described the reported US decision as a “breach of agreement in the war on terror” and called on the US to avoid giving weapons to a country (Pakistan) that, it alleged, supported terrorism.
The US had been offering the equipment free of cost to its allies, which would have been required only to pay for its transportation. Because of continuing militancy and common borders with Afghanistan, Pakistan was considered the most potential candidate for the vehicles along with Afghanistan itself.
MRAPs (mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles) are crucial to Pakstan’s efforts to fight terrorism since increasingly larger numbers of security personal are losing their lives in roadside bomb and suicide attacks. The over 600 + MRAPS that were slated to be gifted to pakistan would have gone a long way in minimising casualties amongst the security forces and would have led to more effective patrolling in areas that are currently considered militancy hotbeds.
