India, Pakistan and Afghanistan are all vying to acquire mine resistant ambush protected vehicles the U.S. says it does not need, Defense News reported Tuesday.
Jeff Schogol writes David Sedney, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia, said the excess items were the result of top-priority orders for MRAPs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The U.S. is planning to sell excess defense articles such as MRAP vehicles as troops prepare to leave Afghanistan later this year.
Schogol reports the State Department has issued a statement to clarify the government’s stand on Pakistan’s request for military equipment.
“To be clear, the United States has not refused Pakistan’s request regarding EDA sourced from the worldwide pool (to include any request that might involve MRAPs),†the statement read, according to Defense News.
“US military equipment leaving overland from Afghanistan through Pakistan or via the Northern Distribution Network is part of the overall process of removing equipment as our forces draw down in Afghanistan. We have not and do not intend to transfer this equipment to the governments neighboring Afghanistan.â€
