Arms US Left Behind In Afghanistan Now With Terrorists: Pak Caretaker PM

Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul Haq Kakar claimed that US military equipment left behind during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan has fallen into terrorists' hands, ARY News reported.

"The equipment - which includes a wide variety of items, from night vision goggles to firearms - is now "emerging as a new challenge" for Islamabad," he said.

The Pakistan-based media outlet quoted Mr Kakar as saying there was a need to adopt a "coordinated approach" to tackle the challenge of the leftover equipment. 

Mr Kakar further said that the Pak-Afghan ties are deeply rooted in cultural and faith-based linkages as well as social integration.

"Pakistan showed magnanimity to the Afghan refugees and the government is coming up with a policy to address the challenge of illegal immigrants," he added.

Earlier, terming the May 9 riots "an attempted coup and civil war," the caretaker PM condemned the violence and said that the main target was the serving army chief and his team in the military, Geo News reported.

Mr Kakar said the whole world witnessed the vandalism and arson on May 9. This kind of manipulation is not acceptable in any form of government."

He said the government does not want to create an impression that revenge is being taken against the accused of May 9 violence.

However, he added if legal action is not taken against those who violated the country's laws and resorted to violence "we will be seen as a party to the matter".

As per Geo News, the caretaker PM added that no political party had the right to throw stones at others, abuse them, and burn buildings.

Regarding the banned outfit, Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Mr Kakar said that the state has both negotiation and force to deal with the TTP or any banned organisation.

The caretaker PM also spoke about his new role, "I had no idea that I would ever sit on the prime minister's chair."Responding to a query, Mr Kakar said he is not willing to stay in office longer than the timeframe set by the Constitution.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)