Taliban Dismisses Trump’s Push to Reclaim Bagram Air Base
(MENAFN) Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government has firmly rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand to return Bagram Air Base to American control, stating that such a move would breach the 2020 Doha Agreement signed between the U.S. and the Taliban.
Tensions escalated after Trump issued a stark warning on Sunday, declaring, “BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!” if the strategic airbase is not handed back to the United States. He had earlier criticized the U.S. withdrawal, pointing to Bagram’s strategic location near China.
Responding to Trump’s ultimatum, Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Taliban-run Afghan government, emphasized Kabul’s longstanding position that national sovereignty is non-negotiable.
“It should be recalled that, under the Doha Agreement, the United States pledged that ‘it will not use or threaten force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Afghanistan, nor interfere in its internal affairs,’” Fitrat said, calling on Washington to adhere to its commitments.
He added, “Rather than repeating past failed approaches, a policy of realism and rationality should be adopted.”
Bagram Air Base, situated roughly 60 kilometers north of Kabul in Parwan Province, served as the central hub for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years. The base played a critical role in counterterrorism efforts targeting al-Qaeda and Islamic State, and also housed detention facilities that have faced allegations of torture.
Under the terms of the Doha Agreement, the United States agreed to gradually withdraw its forces and to refrain from undermining Afghanistan’s sovereignty. In return, the Taliban pledged to prevent terrorist groups from operating on Afghan soil.
Despite the phased withdrawal, the collapse of the U.S.-backed Afghan government in 2021 led to a rushed and chaotic evacuation of American troops and personnel, culminating in the Taliban's return to power.
Since then, Taliban officials have expressed conditional openness to future cooperation with the U.S., stressing that it must not include “any military presence in any part of Afghanistan.”
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