Taliban rejects Trump's demand to return Bagram air base to US control

By Kasia Klimasinska and Eltaf Najafizada

 

The Taliban’s top army commander rejected President Donald Trump’s demand for Afghanistan to return the Bagram air base to US control, warning that any hostility will trigger the “strongest” response.

 

“Afghanistan is fully independent, governed by its own people, and not dependent on any foreign power,” Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Fasihuddin Fitrat said Sunday at an event in Kabul on state-run TV. “We do not fear any bully or aggressor.”

 

Trump threatened “BAD THINGS” for the Taliban-led country if it fails to comply, in a post on Truth Social. That followed comments from Trump earlier during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that the US is trying to reclaim the base. 

 

Trump has long criticised his predecessor Joe Biden over the tumultuous US withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying that the move left American weaponry and other military assets in the hands of the Taliban, including the base at Bagram.

 

Bagram, once the largest US military base in Afghanistan, has been under Taliban control since the group retook power, when American forces withdrew under a negotiated agreement.

 

The Taliban now use Bagram to display captured military hardware, including US-supplied vehicles and weapons left behind after the withdrawal. The base has become a symbol of their victory and is regularly showcased during official visits and military parades.