{
  "id": 376144,
  "title": "Govt rejects Afghan Taliban claim of weapons smuggling, calls allegation ‘baseless’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/09/govt-rejects-afghan-taliban-claim-of-weapons-smuggling-calls",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-09T05:40:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Express Tribune - Pakistan",
    "slug": "the-express-tribune-pakistan",
    "url": "https://tribune.com.pk/story/2622945/govt-rejects-afghan-taliban-claim-of-weapons-smuggling-calls-allegation-baseless"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Afghan Taliban government's claim that weapons were being smuggled from Pakistan into Afghanistan for \"subversive activities\" has been rejected by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The ministry dismissed the allegation as \"frivolous, baseless and contrary to established facts\" in a statement posted on X. According to the ministry, Afghanistan is already \"awash with enormous quantities of sophisticated weapons and military equipment\" left behind following the withdrawal of US and coalition forces. The ministry's statement emphasized that the abandoned equipment was worth an estimated $7.2 billion and added to \"large stocks of Soviet-era weaponry accumulated over decades of conflict\". The ministry further stated that attempts to link such weapons to Pakistan were aimed at diverting international attention from a more serious issue - the continued presence of terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil.",
  "summary": "Information ministry says Afghan soil remains a hub for sophisticated weapons and terrorist groups targeting Pakistan",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}