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A large number of weapons and equipment of the former Afghan government forces-including many weapons and equipment aided by the United States-fell into the hands of the Taliban
Do you want to own a military-grade gas mask or a uniform of the US Marine Corps?
The US military has been stationed in Afghanistan for 20 years and brought billions of dollars worth of equipment, and now a considerable amount of it seems to have fallen into the hands of smugglers. They took the smuggled goods across the border to neighboring Pakistan, some of which were secretly sold in small border towns. But in Lahore, a shopkeeper publicly sold unidentified US military equipment in broad daylight, and business was quite prosperous.
Ironically, the owner claimed that everything with the United States is his mortal enemy; he is a staunch supporter of the Taliban.
BBC reporter Ali Kazmi went to the store in person to see what the store owner was selling, and listened to him talk about his business and “ethics”.
The following is “Reporter Lai Hong” written by Kazimierz for BBC Radio 4:
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After the Taliban regained control of Kabul, the U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan
There is a shop in Lahore that claims to sell smuggled spoils of the Afghan War, things used by the U.S. and NATO forces in the 20-year battle with the Taliban, such as military boots, helmets, tents, laptop computers, gas masks, military uniforms, etc. .
You might think that such a store must be in a dark corner of the city, away from the eyes of the police; or in the basement, you cannot enter without knowing the code to knock on the door.
This special shop is only a 10-minute drive from my home. It is located in a clean, clean, green and luxurious area in Lahore; the shop has bright yellow billboards with eye-catching red and black characters; The windows on the first floor shined with colorful disco lights all day long.
If you happen to stop at a busy intersection in front of the store, it is hard to miss this “Khan Electronics and American Tool Center”.
I must admit that when I first heard about this place from my father, I didn’t think it was a big deal. My father listened to his nephew, who had watched a video about this store on Facebook. As you can imagine, the video quickly became popular. Before long, “Khan Electronics” appeared on all news channels.
One of the programs showed a man wearing a US Marine Corps uniform walking around in front of the store from beginning to end. Of course, the uniform was borrowed from the store.
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Taliban soldiers patrolling the outskirts of Kabul Airport are fully equipped with American equipment.
I was surprised that so many people were curious. Since the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, the black markets in border towns such as Chaman and Peshawar have been open secrets.
These black markets flourished during the US invasion, because many things that were ultimately given to the US military were sent to the landlocked Afghanistan through Pakistan. Some of them were intercepted and sold along the way. A new development may be that Siegendar Khan is selling such items in Lahore. That is not a deserted border, but a large city in the center of Pakistan.
After the United States withdrew its troops from Afghanistan this year, Khan’s business is booming.
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U.S. troops have been stationed in Afghanistan since 2001
Siegendel is in his 60s and is very proud of the work he has done in the past 25 years and makes no secret of it. He is a Pashtun from the Swat Valley with a big beard.
He believes that there is no moral problem in buying and selling goods seized from the intruder. He told me that the Americans left too many things. What use is it for the Taliban? He said that the Taliban would be more willing to sell this thing to him in exchange for money to buy something to eat.
According to him, whenever there is a need to replenish inventory, just call friends in Afghanistan and they will send things over. It’s very simple.
Siegendel said that he does not sell weapons or ammunition because it is more difficult. However, he not only sells smuggled goods, but also legal air guns, stun guns, CCTV cameras and various self-defense and spy equipment.
The narrow corridor leading to the store upstairs is plastered with banners of various products on both sides, as if entering the 007 movie. But here, the big bad guy is the United States.
That’s because when you go in, the first thing you will notice is an American flag and an Israeli flag next to it. It is spread on the store floor and covered with thick tempered glass. This is not directly facing the door, so technically it should be possible to avoid stepping on it. But if you want to buy a pair of solid and sturdy U.S. Marine Corps boots, then you must set foot on it-check the right size.
I spend most of my time in the store, waiting for customers from the same source in Siegendel to deal with. The sound of testing stun guns, uninterrupted bargaining and frequent announcements by Siegendel in his loud voice were heard from the store time and time again.
The shop was crowded with people watching the excitement. Most of them just want to buy high-quality American military equipment, but there are also a few who come to collect victory souvenirs. However, almost everyone complained to me that the prices of the goods were too high, and another customer accused Siegendel of selling Chinese counterfeit goods.
Siegendel’s response was simple: everything is now made in China!
However, in order to assure everyone that he opened a store not just to make money, Siegendel raised his voice and asked customers not to miss a special offer he launched.
In fact, the posters posted everywhere in the store have already stated: a 10% discount on all goods to celebrate the great victory of the Taliban in repelling the American invaders.