Kabul Responds to Trump’s Threats over Bagram Air Base
Tehran - BORNA - Kabul on Sunday reacted strongly to Trump’s warning that “bad things will happen” if Afghanistan’s caretaker government refuses to hand over Bagram Air Base to the Pentagon, stressing that Washington must respect Afghanistan’s territorial integrity.
Hamidullah Fitrat, spokesman for the Afghan government, said that under the 2020 Doha Agreement, the United States pledged not to use force or threats against Afghanistan’s territorial integrity or political independence, nor to interfere in its internal affairs.
The Doha accord, signed between the Taliban and Trump’s administration in 2020, paved the way for the withdrawal of all foreign troops by 2021 and led to the Taliban establishing a caretaker government now in control of the country.
The Afghan spokesman urged Washington to “remain committed to the Doha Agreement” and adopt a policy of “realism and rationality” instead of “repeating failed approaches of the past.”
In a parallel response, Fasihuddin Fitrat, Chief of Staff of Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry, dismissed reports of negotiations over the possible handover of Bagram.
“Negotiating even one inch of Afghan soil is impossible,” he said, adding: “We are not afraid of threats. We proved this during 20 years of jihad against the United States and its allies.”
Meanwhile, Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Peace, suggested that a possible arrangement over Bagram could not be ruled out if progress is made on resolving prisoner and hostage issues between Washington and the Taliban. Writing on X, he noted that broader security cooperation, including potential joint counterterrorism use of Bagram, might emerge over time, but would require persistence and mutual agreement.
Trump’s remarks were made Saturday in a televised interview where he warned: “If Afghanistan doesn’t return the Bagram Air Base to those who built it—the United States of America—bad things will happen!!!”
Bagram, located north of Kabul, was the largest U.S. military installation during Washington’s 20-year war in Afghanistan before the full withdrawal in 2021.
End Article