A final report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has confirmed that billions of dollars’ worth of US-supplied weapons, aircraft, and security infrastructure abandoned during the 2021 withdrawal now constitute the core of the Taliban’s military capability. Crucially, parallel findings from the UN and the Washington Post indicate that a significant portion of this equipment has already filtered to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), directly contributing to escalating terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.
Disturbing report confirms billions in US supplied weapons left behind in Afghanistan now form the backbone of Taliban security forces, with some already flowing into TTP. This failure is not just strategic, it is destabilizing the entire region and putting lives at risk. pic.twitter.com/qMTEVlMhme
— Wajahat Kazmi (@KazmiWajahat) December 7, 2025
The Scale of Abandoned Equipment
The 137-page SIGAR report—which marks the end of the watchdog’s mandate—recounts the massive scale of the two-decade, $144.7 billion US reconstruction effort, concluding that it failed to deliver a stable, democratic Afghanistan.
The US Department of Defence (DoD) confirmed that approximately $7.1 billion worth of American-provided equipment was left behind, including:
- Thousands of vehicles (96,000 ground vehicles purchased between 2002 and 2025).
- Hundreds of thousands of small arms (more than 427,000 weapons purchased).
- Over 17,400 night-vision devices.
- More than 160 aircraft, with 131 operational US-supplied aircraft falling under Taliban control.
An additional $11.5 billion invested in constructing bases, headquarters, and training facilities now provides the physical infrastructure for the Taliban regime.
Direct Consequences for Pakistan’s Security
The immediate consequence of this loss of control is the strengthening of cross-border terror groups targeting the Pakistani state:
- Weaponry Leakage: The Washington Post documented that dozens of US-origin weapons are now surfacing in Pakistan in the hands of terrorists. Serial numbers of at least 63 seized weapons inside Pakistan match those originally supplied to Afghan forces. Pakistani officials note that some of these rifles and carbines are “significantly superior” to the weaponry TTP fighters typically used prior to 2021.
- Taliban Support for TTP: UN assessments and statements reinforce the regional security threat. Denmark’s deputy permanent representative, Sandra Jensen Landi, told the UN Security Council that the TTP continues to receive “logistical and substantial support from the de facto authorities” in Kabul. Earlier UN reports detailed the provision of guesthouses, weapons permits, and immunity from arrest for TTP leaders.
- TTP Strength: The 36th UN Monitoring Report (2025) estimates that the TTP maintains a force of around 6,000 fighters spread across various provinces of Afghanistan, sharing training facilities with Al Qaeda. SIGAR’s own reports for 2025 cite a string of cross-border attacks, including a recent assault in South Waziristan that killed 16 Pakistani security personnel.
Concluding the Two-Decade Failure
SIGAR concluded that the massive US ambition was undermined from the outset by fundamental flaws, including flawed assumptions and early decisions to back “corrupt, human-rights-abusing powerbrokers.” The watchdog estimates that between $26–29.2 billion was lost to waste, fraud, and abuse.
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The final report serves as a sobering cautionary tale for future state-building efforts, with its failures now directly reshaping the security dynamics of the region and empowering groups hostile to Pakistan. Despite the collapse, the US remains Afghanistan’s single largest donor, having disbursed over $3.83 billion in humanitarian and development assistance since August 2021.
