In the wake of the recent wave of terror attacks in Pakistan, including the assault on the Mianwali air base, the US State Department has emphatically denied leaving any equipment behind during the Afghanistan withdrawal that could be used by terrorists to target Pakistan.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Vedant Patel, the principal deputy spokesperson of the US State Department, addressed concerns about reports suggesting that Pakistani security forces had recovered US-made weapons from terrorists following the airbase attack.
A total of nine terrorists were eliminated during a clearance operation after they infiltrated the Mianwali Training Air Base of the Pakistan Air Force in the early hours of Saturday. These attackers scaled an eight-foot high boundary wall and damaged grounded aircraft, along with an oil bowser, after cutting through the barbed wire.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed that the attack on the air base had been thwarted, with three terrorists neutralized and three others cornered or isolated. ISPR also clarified that none of the PAF’s functional operational assets sustained damage, while only some retired, non-operational aircraft were affected during the attack.
The Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), a newly emerged militant group affiliated with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), later claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement to the media.
During the press briefing on Tuesday, Vedant Patel responded to questions regarding US counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan and the alleged use of American weapons in the Mianwali air base attack, stating, “We are aware of the reports of multiple attacks on Pakistani security forces and facilities earlier in November, and we offer our condolences to the families of the victims. However, I want to be very clear about this: There was no equipment left behind by American forces during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
He emphasized that “large-scale military grant assistance remains suspended” and expressed the US’s longstanding partnership with Pakistan over more than 40 years in various security-related areas, including law enforcement, rule of law, and counter-narcotics efforts, reaffirming the value of the bilateral relationship.
In recent months, Pakistan has experienced a surge in terrorist activities, particularly in KP and Balochistan, following the termination of the TTP’s ceasefire with the government in November of the previous year.
On November 3, a militant ambush targeting two security force vehicles in Gwadar resulted in the loss of at least 14 Pakistan Army soldiers’ lives. On October 31, unknown militants opened fire on a police camp in Dera Ismail Khan, leading to the martyrdom of a policeman. The same day, two soldiers were martyred in an IED blast in South Waziristan district.
In July, 12 soldiers of the Pakistan Army lost their lives in separate military operations in the Zhob and Sui areas of Balochistan, marking the highest single-day death toll from terrorist attacks reported this year. Before this, 10 personnel were martyred in a ‘fire raid’ in Balochistan’s Kech district in February 2022.
Last month, data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) revealed that the number of militant attacks in August was the highest monthly tally in nearly nine years.
