House-to-house searches a regular affair in Afghanistan's Kunduz

Kabul [Afghanistan], August 28 (ANI): Since US troops returned on August 15 last year and the Taliban took control, house-to-house searches have been conducted by Islamic Emirate forces in various parts of the nation.
As per the locals in Kunduz province, the security forces have begun house-to-house raids in the city and some districts of the province, TOLOnews reported.
However, the Taliban officials have claimed that the purpose of these searches is to collect illegal equipment.
The police chief of Kunduz, Qari Bakhtyar Maaz, stated that searches have begun at the request of the locals and that some guns, ammunition, and government vehicles have also been discovered.
"We discovered a large number of weapons and ammunition, and this will ensure security in Kunduz province," TOLOnews reported Maaz as saying.
Meanwhile, several residents of Kunduz have a different view about the house-to-house searches by the security forces.
"Weapons and ammunition should be collected, and in this country, there is a need to," said Ajmal, a resident of Kunduz.
"Weapons and rifles should vanish from Afghanistan, and instead of these, people should start working, use the pen, and guide their children to education," stated Abdullah Sahil, a Kunduz local.
Since the previous government fell, house-to-house searches have been conducted by the Taliban time and again in various parts of the nation.
In August 2021, the US left much of the military equipment and weapons at the disposal of the Afghan forces which eventually fell into the hands of the Taliban.
After capturing Kabul, the Taliban not only took political control of Afghanistan but also gained control of all the US-made weapons and military equipment that were left behind by the fleeing Afghan forces.
The US-made arms and military accessories are openly traded in shops by Afghan gun dealers. The traffickers are collecting the weapons from the abandoned Afghan army bases, and procuring them from the Afghan government soldiers and Taliban fighters. These weapons are then mostly sold in weapons markets or arms bazaars in tribal areas of the Afghan-Pakistan border.
The weapons from Afghanistan are smuggled into Pakistan in trucks carrying fruits and vegetables. The main points of entry through which the arms are smuggled are the Torkham border crossing Torkham (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Chaman (Baluchistan), Ghulam Khan (North Waziristan) and Nawa Pass (Bajaur).
Meanwhile, Afghanistan is the prime source of opium supply to the world drug markets and Pakistan is the transport hub with drug networks operating from the country using its drug routes to reach international markets.
The Taliban is under UN sanctions over terrorist activities has established an interim government in Afghanistan led by Mohammad Hasan Akhund, a prominent member of the first Taliban cabinet.
The country has since been facing a humanitarian crisis with economic distress and food shortages. (ANI)