The recent recovery of a Steyr AUG rifle from two terrorists killed in Kupwara on July 18 has set off alarm bells within the security grid of Jammu and Kashmir.
The incident is being interpreted as a significant indication that weapons and fighters from the North-West Frontier Province and Afghanistan are now infiltrating the region. Senior officials within the security grid have long warned of the potential for Pakistan to leverage Taliban fighters, as well as arms and war equipment left behind by US-led forces in Afghanistan, to destabilize Jammu and Kashmir.
This recent development is not an isolated incident. In Kathua, American-made M4 carbine assault rifles were recently recovered, lending further credence to the suspicion among Indian agencies that weapons abandoned by the US Army following their 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan have made their way into Kashmir. The security apparatus has been on high alert since this discovery, scrutinizing the possible influx of sophisticated weaponry into the region.
Central intelligence agencies had previously received leads suggesting that the logistics, arms, and ammunition used in the Poonch attack, which resulted in the deaths of five Rashtriya Rifles (RR) jawans, were sourced from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Investigations into the Poonch attack pointed to the use of bullets originating from the stockpiles left behind by US forces post their exit from Afghanistan. This connection has bolstered the theory that weapons left in the chaotic aftermath of the US withdrawal are now being utilized to fuel insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir.
The recovery of the Steyr AUG rifle in Kupwara, alongside other sophisticated weaponry, underscores the escalating threat posed by the potential influx of arms and fighters from regions influenced by the Taliban. Officials are now tasked with intensifying their efforts to monitor and prevent the smuggling of such arms into Jammu and Kashmir, aiming to maintain regional stability amidst these growing concerns.
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