NATO supplies en route to Afghanistan end up for sale in Pakistan
By Henna Saeed
10 Dec 2013
NATO makes use of Pakistan to get supplies to US troops stationed in neighbouring Afghanistan. But more recently, items such as spy watches, spectacles and other gadgets, have ended up being sold in the Pakistani city of Lahore.
LAHORE: NATO makes use of Pakistan to get supplies to US troops stationed in neighbouring Afghanistan.
But more recently, items such as spy watches, spectacles and other gadgets, have ended up being sold in the Pakistani city of Lahore.
Sikander Khan, director of Khan Electronics, said: “This stuff is neither stolen nor of loot. The men deployed by the US in Afghanistan are actually rented forces, so they have no loyalty to America. To buy drugs, they sell these goods in Afghanistan and that’s how they reach Pakistan. It’s all legal and these are just basic items of use.”
Looted or bought legally, the NATO supplies have always been a controversial topic.
Pakistan is the main route for supplies intended for US troops in landlocked Afghanistan.
But not all the equipment gets to them.
Food, electronic equipment, guns and even uniforms are siphoned off along the way.
And the value of these goods increases as they become harder to get.
Khan Electronics was established in 2001, but only started dealing with American military goods five years back.
There are no rules or restrictions on what can be sold.
Tasers, which can be as effective as guns for immobilising people, are priced between US$40 to US$80.
And buying one is as easy as buying fruits off a supermarket rack.
Khan said: "If we get any night vision goggles, we sell them only to Pakistan army personnel, but the rest of the NATO equipment is up for sale to everybody and anybody. The US military shoes, jackets and even uniforms can be bought and used by army officers or even the common man."
One of its kind, Khan Electronics boasts of a unique variety of American articles, such as a US army uniforms with a price tag ranging from US$20 dollars to almost US$1,000.
Although business is good now, the goods will stop coming in once US troops withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014.
- CNA/gn