Since the Emiraat-E-Islami Afghanistan (Dari: امارت اسلامی افغانستان – English: Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan or IEA for short), also known as the Taliban, retook control of Afghanistan from the US-backed government in Kabul, a massive number of arms, munition and vehicles were captured and/or surrendered to them by government and allied militant forces. All this occurred before and leading up to the capture of Kabul on 15th August 2021 by the IEA.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
AR15 Rifles from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Based Royal Arms Company
The AR15 or ‘M16’ & ‘M4’ pattern self-loading rifles are a very popular choice in many commercial and military markets the world over, Pakistan is no exception. Some Pakistani law-enforcement and military units utilise varying models of this platform already and a large prevalence of M4 and M16 5.56×45mm rifles of various types and manufacturers have been creeping onto the market slowly in the last few decades or so, none more so than the Colt or FN marked M4A1 and M16A2/A4 rifles seeping through from Afghanistan in the last decade. There is such a high demand for these particular firearms and a low supply and high price for genuine examples that various manufacturers stepped up-to-the plate and have started to manufacture their own copies within the ex-FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, mainly in Peshawar’s small-arms manufacturing zones but also within the infamous arms manufacturing town of Darra Adamkhel.
A Look Back in Time: Darra Adamkhel During The Soviet-Afghan War – 1983
The focus of this article is a video which has been around for some time, yet seems to be somewhat obscure. So far, I have yet to see it shared amongst the firearm community interested in the Pak-Afghan region’s cottage manufacturing of small-arms. A total of 37 years, as of 2020, have elapsed since it was made and although the quality isn’t great, it is a glimpse into the distant past, a look at what process are still the same and what has changed since then.
Darra AKM Rifles with AR-15 Features
Daniel Hughes is a Research Assistant with Armament Research Services. He has worked on several OSINT projects examining the use of arms and munitions in the Middle East and Central Asia.
The town of Darra Adam Khel in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has been involved in the craft production of firearms for over a century. The craft production that takes place in Darra provides an important source of small arms and light weapons for many regional actors. Continued monitoring of open and closed source media in the region has yielded many interesting data. One such observation is the increasing popularity of AKM-pattern self-loading rifles which imitate the appearance—and some of the features—of the 5.56 × 45 mm AR-15 self-loading rifle. These Darra ‘AKM-15’ rifles are explored below.