ISLAMABAD — The Taliban have warned that the military weapons left behind by the United States in Afghanistan now belong to them as “spoils of war” and will be utilized to defend against any attempts to reclaim them. The statement marks the first official response from the internationally unrecognized government in Kabul to President Donald Trump’s pledge on the eve of his Jan. 20 inauguration to retrieve U.S. arms from the de facto Islamist Afghan leaders.

According to Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief Taliban spokesperson, the weapons that America abandoned in Afghanistan and provided to the former regime are now in the hands of the Afghan people as spoils of war. They are being used to defend their independence, sovereignty, and Islamic system, and no external force can force them to surrender these weapons, nor will we accept any demands for their surrender,” Mujahid stated. “We will use these weapons to repel invaders who dare to seize them.”

U.S.-led Western troops were stationed in Afghanistan for nearly two decades to counter terrorist groups and protect the internationally backed government in Kabul at the time. They hastily and chaotically withdrew in August 2021, just days after the then-insurgent Taliban stormed back to power. A U.S. Department of Defense report in 2022 found that about $7 billion worth of military hardware was left behind in Afghanistan after the military withdrawal was completed. The equipment, including aircraft, air-to-ground munitions, military vehicles, weapons, communications equipment, and other materials, was subsequently seized by the Taliban.

In his pre-inauguration remarks at a Washington rally last month, Trump said that his predecessor, Joe Biden, “gave our military equipment, a big chunk of it, to the enemy.” He went on to say that any future financial support to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan will be subject on the return of US military arms. “If we’re going to pay billions of dollars a year, tell them we’re not going to give them the money unless they give back our military equipment,” Trump stated at the time, without going into detail. Mujahid refuted Trump’s statements on Monday, claiming that the Taliban had not received “a single penny” in financial aid from the US since reclaiming control of the country. He claimed that Kabul did not anticipate or seek any assistance from Washington.

Since regaining control in Afghanistan, the Taliban have showcased US military gear at their so-called victory celebrations. The Doha Agreement, reached by the first Trump administration with the then-insurgent Taliban in February 2020, prompted the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. Biden finalized and defended the troop pullout, saying the alternative was either to follow through on that commitment or be prepared to return to battle the Taliban.