Kabul, June 4 (IANS) Afghan security forces have seized a cache of weapons and ammunition in eastern Paktia province, the provincial police office said Thursday.
According to the police statement, the weapons and ammunition were discovered during a recent security operation in the Nari Zhwara area of Dand Patan district, a border district adjoining Pakistan.
Among the seized items were eight Kalashnikov rifles, 12 pistols, 20 Kalashnikov barrels, three M4 rifle barrels, and a thousand rounds of pistol ammunition, the statement said, Xinhua news agency reported.
Authorities said the weapons and ammunition were being smuggled into Afghanistan when security forces intercepted and confiscated the shipment.
Afghan security forces have stepped up operations against arms smuggling and other cross-border crimes across the country in recent months as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen security and maintain public order.
Last month, a report highlighted that the recent seizures of weapons by Afghan forces along the border, smuggled from Pakistani territory, are not merely arms interceptions but signals “warning flares” exposing the deeper fractures in Afghanistan-Pakistan relations.
Each intercepted cache underscores an environment shaped by mistrust – reflecting continued concerns over cross-border smuggling networks originating from Pakistan.
“The eastern frontier of Afghanistan has once again become the stage for a familiar but unsettling drama. Under the cover of night, in the rugged terrain of Dand wa Patan, Taliban border units intercepted yet another shipment of weapons, allegedly smuggled from Pakistan. It was not an isolated incident; it was the latest chapter in a pattern that has become too frequent to ignore,” a report in Eurasia Review had detailed
“Recently, the 3rd Border Brigade moved on what they described as ‘precise intelligence’. By the end of the operation, 26 weapons, including M4’s and AK-47s, were laid out on the ground, a stark reminder of the region’s persistent volatility. Only days earlier, another cache was seized in Torkham: specialised handguns, suppressors, and equipment reportedly intended for covert attacks inside Afghanistan,” it added.
According to the report, the situation is further complicated by the allegations within Afghan security circles that elements within Pakistan’s intelligence establishment may have facilitated or permitted these transfers.
–IANS
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