Taliban rejects Donald Trump’s demand to return Bagram Air Base

Bagram, the largest air base in Afghanistan, located north of Kabul, was the centre of US operations in their 20-year war against the Taliban.

Trump had threatened unspecified punishment if the facility was not returned. "If Afghanistan doesn't give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!" he wrote on Truth Social.

However, Fasihuddin Fitrat, chief of staff of Afghanistan's defence ministry, said that while some groups had suggested a political arrangement, he ruled out any such thing.

"Recently, some people have said that they have entered negotiations with Afghanistan for taking back Bagram air base," Fitrat told local media. "A deal over even an inch of Afghanistan's soil is not possible. We don't need it," AFP reported.

In an official statement, the Afghan government stressed that "Afghanistan's independence and territorial integrity are of the utmost importance."

Trump’s push for Bagram

During a state visit to Britain last week, Trump for the first time publicly raised the idea of the United States retaking Bagram, which he has frequently criticised Washington for losing, noting its strategic proximity to China.

Asked at the White House if he was considering sending US troops to seize the base, Trump said: "We won't talk about that, but 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, you're going to find out what I'm going to do."

US and NATO troops pulled out of Bagram in July 2021 under Joe Biden’s presidency, as part of the Trump-brokered 2020 deal with the Taliban.

The withdrawal triggered the rapid collapse of the Afghan military and the Taliban’s return to power weeks later.

History and allegations

Originally built in the 1950s with Soviet assistance, Bagram was expanded during the Cold War with US help and later by Moscow during its decade-long occupation.

At the height of American control around 2010, it resembled a small town, complete with supermarkets and fast-food outlets such as Dairy Queen and Burger King.

It was visited by multiple US presidents, including Barack Obama in 2012 and Trump himself in 2019.

However, rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have long alleged systematic human rights abuses at Bagram, particularly relating to detainees held during Washington’s "War on Terror".