Could lead to proliferation of arms in Asia, warn experts
Amid apprehension of proliferation of American-origin military equipment in Asia, a team of top aeronautical engineers of the Pakistan Air Force has reached Kabul to assess over 200 aircraft and copters left behind at Bagram airbase and Kabul airport by the American forces.
The Pak engineers will assess those military aircraft which are operational, reparable, or saleable for further utilisation of these machines for their operational requirements or for passing on to their strategic partners or non-State actors with a price tag, sources said.
The exact strength of the team of the aeronautical engineers could not be ascertained immediately, but the team has taken an inventory of spares required by it for equipping the grounded American aircraft it received for operations in the war on terror.
“The Pak Air force is facing shortage of spares for its US-origin military hardware due to a supply embargo put in place by Washington, and the engineers could identify and dismantle such parts required by the Pakistanis,” said an expert tracking the developments in Kabul.
Counter Terrorism experts said the military hardware left behind in Afghanistan by the US could potentially lead to arms proliferation in entire Asia and beyond.
Reverse engineering of American military equipment and bringing out better and advanced versions could blunt the edge of the forces in the region. This could pose a challenge to the Indian forces’ superiority also as the reverse engineered equipment could counter the strengths of the American military hardware in use here, they said.
Tanks and special vehicles left behind by the Americans in Afghanistan are already being shipped to countries like Pakistan and Iran, the sources said.
Afghan leader and former military commander of the Soviet-Afghan war vintage Abdul Rashid Dostum has fled with 50 aircraft and about 1,000 tanks along with his men to Tajikistan, the sources said.
Meanwhile, infighting in the Taliban leadership has come to the fore due to Pakistan’s machinations in installing the new regime in Kabul.
