Taliban Officials Deliver Decisive Response to Trump’s Threat Against Bagram Airbase
The English section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr News Agency and China Daily, reports that statements and threats from former U.S.President Donald Trump regarding reclaiming Bagram Air Base have provoked a sharp response from Taliban officials.
Mullah Taj Mir Jawad, First Deputy Director of the Intelligence Directorate of Afghanistan’s caretaker government, responded to Trump’s remarks by asserting that the current Afghan governance will maintain its existing system and structure.
Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, Afghanistan’s Minister of Defense, said: “When the U.S. was withdrawing from Afghanistan, they asked to keep their bases. We told them: ‘If you stay, we are ready to fight you for another 20 years.'”
he added, ”Our answer is this: if you want bases here, we are prepared to fight for 20 more years.”
Zakir Jalali, Third Political deputy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of afghanistan, firmly rejected any return of U.S. forces to Kabul.He emphasized that Afghans “have never accepted foreign troops on their soil,” and reiterated that any talks with Washington exclude discussions about occupation or renewed military presence.
Last Thursday during a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the end of his visit to Britain, Donald Trump stated: “Bagram is one of the largest airbases in the world. We gave it away for free.By the way, we’re trying to get it back-we’re working on getting it back because the Taliban need our help. We want that base because one reason is its proximity-just one hour-to where China builds its nuclear weapons.”
Yesterday evening on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump issued another warning: “If Afghanistan does not return Bagram Air Base to us, bad things will happen!”
