While the world was uniting against terrorism post-9/11, a dangerous game was being plotted behind the peaks of the Himalayas. The recent seizure of over 500 US-origin weapons and 27,000 rounds of ammunition by Afghan authorities at the Torkham entry gate has reopened an old wound that Pakistan has tried to hide for decades. These weapons, being smuggled from Pakistan into Afghanistan under the guise of refugee movements, are not just pieces of iron; they are evidence of the betrayal that the ISI and the Pakistani military committed against their own allies and NATO forces.
The Mystery of NATO Container Looting and Burning Trucks
During the presence of NATO forces in Afghanistan, a deeply troubling pattern was observed. Reports frequently surfaced that NATO logistics and weapon containers, arriving from the Karachi port, were “looted” in terrorist attacks. However, local sources and emerging evidence now make it clear that these attacks were orchestrated by elements within the Pakistan Army and the ISI.
This was a calculated ‘Loot and Burn’ strategy. Advanced weaponry meant for US and NATO forces was quietly offloaded and moved into the black markets of Pakistan or secret ISI depots. To destroy the evidence, the empty trucks were set ablaze so that on paper, it could be recorded that the “weapons were looted by insurgents.” The automatic firearms and small arms seized at the Torkham border today are part of that very ‘stolen loot’ that the ISI is now recirculating into Afghanistan to maintain its “Strategic Depth.”
The Politics of the ‘Double-Cross’: Setting the Fire and Playing the Fireman
The greatest irony of Pakistan is that it portrays itself as a victim on international platforms, particularly before US policymakers like Marco Rubio and Zalmay Khalilzad. Islamabad repeatedly alleges that the TTP and Baloch defense groups are using US-made weapons. However, the recent seizures have torn this narrative to shreds. The question is simple: if the weapons are coming from Afghanistan, why is the smuggling flowing from Pakistan into Afghanistan?
The truth is that the ISI is using these weapons for a “double game.” On one hand, these arms are sent to Afghanistan to ensure instability continues, and on the other, those same weapons are provided to their own ‘proxies’ only to be later displayed as “evidence” to extract more military aid and dollars from the United States. It is a form of “arms laundering” where the stolen goods themselves are used as proof of victimization.
The Source of Baloch Rebellion Arms and ISI’s Growing Anxiety
Observers have noted another fascinating aspect. Most of the advanced weaponry seen with Baloch fighters in the battlefield has been captured directly from Pakistani security forces during direct skirmishes. This further reinforces the theory that the ISI never allowed those NATO-bound weapons to reach Afghanistan in the first place, instead diverting them for their own military use or for their hand-picked militants within Pakistan.
Now that those very weapons are backfiring on them, Pakistan is attempting to shift the blame onto Afghanistan and the TTP. However, the video footage from the Torkham border and the massive cache of arms seized there tell the world that the true center of this illegal arms trafficking in South Asia is Rawalpindi and the ISI headquarters. The international community, especially the US, must now realize that the weapons they sent are being used against them and their allies, with the strings pulled directly by the Pakistani military leadership.
