"The Taliban has rejected United States President Donald Trump's demand that it hand over the Bagram airbase that Washington ran during its 20-year war in Afghanistan, dismissing Trump's threat that bad things will happen if this does not come to pass. The Taliban said on Sunday that Afghanistan's independence and territorial integrity are of the utmost importance and called on the US to uphold prior agreements that it would not resort to force."
"Bagram, which was the US's largest military site in Afghanistan, is a large airbase located 50km (31 miles) north of Kabul that served as one of the US's key military hubs during its two-decade war against the Taliban. The war, which followed the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington by al-Qaeda, ended in 2021 with Washington's abrupt and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan."
"Over the last week, Trump has expressed a keen interest in reacquiring the airbase. 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, Trump said to reporters at the White House on Saturday. Trump 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's Prime Minister Keir Starmer."
Donald Trump has pushed to regain Bagram airbase, citing its proximity to China’s nuclear facilities and expressing urgency to reacquire the site. The Taliban rejected the demand, emphasized Afghanistan’s independence and territorial integrity, and urged the US to honor prior agreements not to use force. Bagram served as the US's largest military hub, located 50km north of Kabul, during the two-decade war that followed the September 11, 2001 attacks and ended with the chaotic US withdrawal in 2021. Thousands were detained at Bagram during the war, with many held without charge and subjected to abuse. The Taliban retook the facility in 2021.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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