A number of former Afghan government officials and soldiers, employed by the previous administration, gathered in Kabul on Sunday protesting against US President Donald Trump’s call for the return of military equipment left behind in the country.
The protesters said that the equipment belongs to Afghanistan and that the United States should pay compensation for destroying military equipment country during their withdrawal.
“The general opinion of the people of Afghanistan is that these weapons, equipment and war technology are the property of the nation and the property of the people,” said Afzal Aman, former deputy minister of defense.
Abdul Sattar Khatgar, a military veteran, also said that Trump’s insistence on regaining control of Bagram Airfield is against international laws and it will never happen.
The former soldiers also asked Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to hand over the planes of the former army to Afghanistan in compliance with international rules and laws.
In the gathering, it was also reported that after the fall of the republic, military equipment and vehicles of the former army were transferred to Pakistan and Iran, 46 aircraft were transferred to Uzbekistan and 18 aircraft were taken to Tajikistan.
Uzbekistan recently handed over seven Black Hawk helicopters of the former Afghan army to the United States.
Some participants at the gathering said that the United States was pursuing its own goals in Afghanistan.
“America did not come to Afghanistan for the people. President Biden himself said that they were not here for nation-building. They had come to steal and loot, to spread drugs, to kill Muslims and to divide Afghanistan,” Kamran Aman, a military veteran, said.
Trump has repeatedly criticized the abandonment of military equipment in Afghanistan and has called for its return.
The Islamic Emirate, however, has said that the leftover US arms are spoils of war and will never be returned.
