In the last few days, Trump has repeatedly said the US wants to reclaim the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan. On Sunday, he also warned the Taliban regime, saying the US wants the Bagram airbase.
The Taliban on Sunday rejected US President Donald Trump’s bid to retake the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, with its Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi declaring that the Islamic regime will not surrender “even a meter” of Afghan land to the Americans.
Muttaqi made the remarks during a special interview with TOLO News.ย
‘Respect Doha Agreement’
Muttaqi’s remark comes hours after Hamdullah Fitrat, Deputy Spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, asked the US to respect the Doha Agreement that was signed in Qatar in February 2020 between the Taliban and Washington. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he said the US, under the Doha Agreement, had pledged not to “use or threaten force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Afghanistan”.
“In accordance with Islamic principles and grounded in its balanced, economy-oriented foreign policy, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan seeks constructive relations with all states on the basis of mutual and shared interests,” posted Fitrat.ย
“It has been consistently communicated to the United States in all bilateral negotiations that, for the Islamic Emirate, Afghanistanโs independence and territorial integrity are of the utmost importance,” he said, adding that a policy of realism and rationality should be adopted.
Trump’s warning
In the last few days, Trump has repeatedly said the US wants to reclaim the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan. During his state visit to the United Kingdom (UK), Trump, in a joint press conference British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, had said the US is trying to reclaim the Bagram airbase.
Later on Sunday, he once again said the US wants the Bagram airbase. “If Afghanistan doesnโt give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!” he posted on Truth Social.ย
Bagram airbase’s importance
The Bagram airbase was the US’s largest in Afghanistan before its hasty withdrawal in 2021. Located nearly 64 km from Kabul, the Bagram airbase is an hour’s flight to China’s Xinjiang region. Through the Bagram airbase, the US aims to monitor the situation in the region and keep a check on China. Besides, it also wants to keep a check on Iran through the Bagram airbase.ย
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