America’s messy Afghan withdrawal has left the region awash with arms

When the US hastily withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, it left behind an arsenal estimated to be worth $7 billion in military hardware. The spillover effects are visible in Pakistan and, to a certain extent, in Jammu and Kashmir. Between 2022 and 2024, a series of recoveries, particularly across Jammu’s Doda-Kishtwar-Kathua-Udhampur belt, some featuring night-vision devices, suggests a potential cross-border influx of advanced gear.