Balkhi: US Military Equipment Left Behind Belongs to Afghanistan

Qahar Balkhi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate, says the military equipment left behind by US forces in Afghanistan is now the property of the Afghan government and that Kabul is not seeking to negotiate or bargain over the equipment.

Responding to US demands for the return of the equipment, he said the United States killed many people in Afghanistan during the war and destroyed a large part of the country, and should pay for the consequences of its actions in Afghanistan.

Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “These are the assets of the Afghan government, and we are not in the business of negotiating or bargaining over the assets of the Afghan government. The Americans did many things. The Americans killed many people and destroyed most of the country. Shouldn’t they first pay for that?”

The military equipment left behind by US forces in Afghanistan remains one of the issues of disagreement between Kabul and Washington. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that the equipment be returned.

The spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate has previously described such demands as unreasonable.

Aziz Maarij, a political analyst, said: “Equipment left behind after a war is considered war booty under Sharia, and under international principles, it is the property of that country. Therefore, all US equipment left behind in Afghanistan belongs to Afghanistan.”

Relations between Afghanistan and the United States have remained uncertain since the fall of the republic on August 15, 2021, with engagement largely limited to prisoner exchanges and certain security issues