Afghanistan rejects US return to Bagram airbase

President Trump reiterated telephone to reclaim the immense airbase, but Taliban says US indispensable prosecute without seeking subject presence.

Afghanistan has rejected a telephone from President Donald Trump for the United States subject to instrumentality to the state and reclaim the Bagram airbase.

A overseas ministry authoritative declared connected societal media connected Friday that Kabul is acceptable to engage, but maintained that the US volition not beryllium allowed to re-establish a subject beingness successful the cardinal Asian country.

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Trump said connected Thursday that his medication is pressing to “get back” the basal astatine Bagram. The US president, who has agelong expressed anticipation of reclaiming the facility, noted that its presumption is strategically captious owed to its proximity to China.

“We’re trying to get it back,” Trump announced. “We gave it to [the Taliban] for nothing,” helium complained, adding that Bagram is “exactly 1 hr distant from wherever China makes its atomic missiles”.

However, Taliban officials person dismissed the idea.

“Afghanistan and the United States request to prosecute with 1 different … without the United States maintaining immoderate subject beingness successful immoderate portion of Afghanistan,” Zakir Jalal, a overseas ministry official, posted connected societal media.

Kabul is acceptable to prosecute governmental and economical ties with Washington based connected “mutual respect and shared interests,” helium added.

Lying conscionable northbound of Kabul, Bagram, which hosted a notorious prison, served arsenic the centre of the US military’s operations during its two-decade concern of Afghanistan.

Thousands of radical were besides imprisoned astatine the tract for years without complaint oregon proceedings by the United States during its alleged “war connected terror”, and galore of those were abused oregon tortured.

The Taliban retook the installation successful 2021 pursuing the US withdrawal and the illness of the Afghan government.

Trump has repeatedly expressed regret that the basal was abandoned, arguing that Washington should person maintained a tiny force, not due to the fact that of Afghanistan but due to the fact that of its determination adjacent China.

The latest remarks came arsenic Trump confirmed for the archetypal clip that his medication has been successful talks with Taliban officials.

Over the weekend, Adam Boehler, his peculiar hostage envoy, and Zalmay Khalilzad, a erstwhile US envoy for Afghanistan, met Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi successful Kabul. Discussions reportedly centred connected American citizens detained successful Afghanistan.

US officials person been weighing the anticipation of re-establishing a beingness astatine Bagram since astatine slightest March, according to reports cited by the US media outlet CNN.

Trump and his advisers reason that the airfield could supply leverage, not lone implicit security, but besides let entree to Afghanistan’s invaluable mineral resources.

The US does not officially recognise the Taliban government, which returned to powerfulness successful 2021 aft 20 years of struggle with American-led forces.