The Congress on Thursday questioned the Narendra Modi government’s diplomatic outreach to Afghanistan, citing reports about a Taliban link to the recent attack on an army convoy in Poonch and the sale of sophisticated weapons to terror outfits.
“Multiple media reports now indicate that the highly penetrative and ricocheting ‘steel core’ bullets used by terrorists were left behind by US troops in Afghanistan,” Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said.
“The bullets were obtained by terrorist groups such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed from the Taliban” and had been used in Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
“The Chinese-made ‘steel core’ bullets capable of piercing an armoured shield were used by Nato forces during the Afghanistan war and these bullets are part of ammunition the Nato forces have abandoned after leaving Afghanistan,” Khera said.
“Interestingly, the latest report by US Sigar (special inspector-general for Afghanistan reconstruction), released on February 28, says: ‘…Taliban could sell a portion of the captured arms and equipment to augment its revenue flow. Alternatively, the Taliban may not have control over the entire Afghan National Security Forces arsenal, which could mean that equipment could be acquired by smugglers or gun dealers and sold on the open market’.”
Khera added: “According to The New York Times, US-made equipment, including US-made pistols, rifles, grenades, binoculars and night-vision goggles, has found its way into the hands of Afghan gun dealers.
“In this context, it is important to note that, belying India’s previous foreign policy stance, the Modi government has started engaging with the Taliban. In the 2023 budget, the Modi government announced a Rs 200-crore aid for Afghanistan.”
Khera said the use of armour-piercing bullets had been detected in Kashmir for the first time in December 2017 when Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists carried out a suicide attack on a CRPF camp in Lethapora.
“In June 2019, armour-piercing bullets were used by terrorists in an attack on CRPF men in Anantnag,” he said.
