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Published : 22 Sep 2025, 12:20 AM
The Taliban has rejected US President Donald Trump’s demand to hand over the Bagram airbase, dismissing his warning that “bad things” will happen if the base is not returned to American control.
Al Jazeera reported on Sunday that the Taliban issued a statement insisting that “Afghanistan’s independence and territorial integrity are of the utmost importance.”
The group urged the US to respect prior agreements and to avoid resorting to coercion.
“Rather than repeating past failed approaches, a policy of realism and rationality should be adopted,” the statement read.
The Bagram airbase, located about 50km north of Kabul, was the largest US military site in Afghanistan during the 20-year war following the Sept 11 attacks.
According to the report, the base was a central hub for US military operations and intelligence efforts until American forces withdrew in 2021.
During the US occupation, thousands were detained at the facility without trial under the banner of the “war on terror”.
Al Jazeera said many of them faced torture and abuse. The Taliban retook control of the base following the collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government in August 2021.
It added that Trump recently expressed a strong interest in regaining control of the base.
Speaking at the White House on Saturday, Trump said: “We’re talking now to Afghanistan and we want it back and we want it back soon, right away. And if they don’t do it, if they don’t do it, you’re going to find out what I’m gonna do.”
The president first announced that he was working to take the base back during a state visit to the United Kingdom in a press conference alongside the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
He emphasised one strategic reason, saying: “We’re trying to get it back because they need things from us. We want that base back. But one of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons.”
