Taliban Army Chief Rejects Trump’s Call To Hand Over Bagram Air Base
The Taliban’s army chief has dismissed suggestions of any deal with the United States over Bagram Air Base, pushing back against recent demands from US President Donald Trump.
The Taliban’s army chief has dismissed suggestions of any deal with the United States over Bagram Air Base, pushing back against recent demands from US President Donald Trump.
Fasihuddin Fitrat, Taliban's chief of army staff, said Afghans had “fought well and shone brightly” in resisting efforts to undermine the country’s independence. Speaking at a graduation ceremony for air force cadets, he recalled that many Afghans were once sent to prisons in Guantanamo, Bagram and Pul-e-Charkhi, where they faced “physical and psychological suffering” but never bowed to pressure.
His remarks followed a series of statements by Trump, who urged the Taliban to hand over Bagram to US control and warned that “bad things will happen” if the base is not returned.
The Taliban on Sunday urged US President Donald Trump to honour Washington’s commitments under the Doha Agreement, after he warned of “bad things” if the group refuses to hand Bagram Air Base back to American control.
In a statement, the Taliban recalled that the 2020 deal included a US pledge “not to use force or threats against the territorial integrity and political independence of Afghanistan.”
Adopting a conciliatory tone, the group said it sought “positive relations with all countries in light of Sharia principles, a balanced foreign policy and an economy-focused approach.” It added that during bilateral talks with Washington, Taliban negotiators had stressed that Afghanistan’s “independence and territorial integrity” were paramount.
“Instead of repeating the failed experiences of the past, a realistic and rational approach must be adopted,” the statement said.
Trump had earlier declared: “If Afghanistan does not return Bagram Air Base to those who built it, the United States of America, bad things going to happen.”
More than 60 percent of those missing after the recent earthquake in eastern Afghanistan are women, the United Nations said Friday, warning that female survivors face heightened risks of violence, exploitation and lack of access to health care.
Susan Ferguson, the UN’s special representative for Afghan women, said women and girls accounted for over half of the victims and the majority of those still unaccounted for. Speaking at a briefing hosted by UN Women, she said the disaster has left women facing a long-term crisis.
During a recent visit to Kunar province, Ferguson said she saw widespread destruction of infrastructure and a lack of sanitation facilities for women and girls. Many are forced to travel long distances, exposing them to violence and landmines.
She also warned of rising domestic violence, which often increases after disasters due to displacement, loss of livelihoods and other pressures. The UN has identified at least 463 female-headed households in the affected areas. Pregnant and breastfeeding women are among the most vulnerable, with all women and girls in need of health services.
Restrictions imposed by the Taliban, including bans on women working for NGOs, attending university and limits on movement, have left Afghanistan critically short of female health workers, further worsening the crisis. Women have also been disproportionately affected in accessing humanitarian aid.
Ferguson called for $2.5 million to fund a six- to 12-month emergency programme to expand women’s and girls’ access to essential services in quake-hit areas, stressing the “vital importance” of female aid workers.
A Taliban spokesman warned Pakistan on Friday that threatening rhetoric from its leaders will make it harder to restrain the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, accused Pakistani officials of using “warmongering” language and damaging relations between the two neighbours. “Before we speak in the media, spoil the atmosphere or take military action, a reasonable solution must be found,” he told a Pakistani think tank.
The remarks came a week after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned that Islamabad would sever ties with the Afghan Taliban if it continued to back or host the TTP. He strsssed that the Afghan Taliban must choose between Islamabad and the TTP.
Mujahid said the Taliban are dissatisfied with the current situation, blaming both negative media campaigns and Pakistani threats. He insisted that Pakistan’s security problems are domestic matters. If Islamabad has intelligence that an attack is being planned from Afghan soil, he added, it should share it so the Taliban can act.
Pakistan’s security has sharply deteriorated since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. TTP attacks have surged, targeting security forces, infrastructure and projects such as the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of harbouring TTP leaders and allowing deadly attacks to be planned across the border, charges the Taliban deny.
A senior Taliban intelligence official has warned that the group could resume suicide bombings to defend its rule, a threat delivered shortly after US President Donald Trump said Washington is exploring a return to Bagram Air Base.
Taliban-run state television on Saturday broadcast an audio message attributed to Tajmir Jawad, deputy head of the group’s intelligence service and widely described as the “architect of suicide attacks.”
Jawad said Taliban fighters used suicide bombings to bring the group to power and would be prepared to use them again to preserve its control. He pledged to sacrifice himself “piece by piece” for the Taliban’s survival and branded opponents as “infidels and occupiers.”
The remarks followed Trump’s comments in London on Thursday that the United States wanted to return to Bagram, and his statement a day later at the White House confirming talks with the Taliban. Jawad did not name Trump directly, but the timing of his remarks was seen as a veiled response.
Jawad, a senior member of the Haqqani network, was appointed deputy intelligence chief after the Taliban’s 2021 takeover. The former Afghan government accused him of involvement in major attacks, including the 2020 assault on Kabul University that killed 22 students and wounded more than 40. Islamic State’s local affiliate claimed responsibility, but officials in Kabul said Jawad helped plan the attack.
He has also been linked to a suicide bombing at Kabul Bank in Nangarhar province that left dozens dead. In recent years, he has repeatedly signalled that suicide operations remain a tool the Taliban could use to safeguard its rule.
A former Taliban diplomat has warned that no Afghan leader has the right to negotiate the presence of foreign troops in the country, as debate grows over US efforts to regain access to Bagram Air Base.
Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban’s former ambassador to Pakistan, said Saturday on X that President Donald Trump holds a “misguided perception” of Afghanistan. He argued that history shows no power has been able to shift Afghanistan from neutrality without leading the country toward “ruin and destruction.”
Zaeef claimed the United States is seeking to re-establish a foothold in Afghanistan as part of preparations for a potential global conflict. He said Washington is pursuing influence in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Azerbaijan to extend its military and intelligence reach, warning that the groundwork for such a confrontation could unfold by 2035.
Trump confirmed Friday that talks with the Taliban are under way to return US forces to Bagram, which was abandoned during the 2021 withdrawal. At a news conference a day earlier with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, he said the base’s proximity to sites where China develops nuclear weapons makes it strategically vital.
The Wall Street Journal reported US officials are in the early stages of discussions with the Taliban about a limited counterterrorism deployment at the base.
Taliban Official Frames Trump’s Comments as Business Deal
Zakir Jalali, an aide to Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, said Trump is “a successful trader and businessman” who raised Bagram in the context of a negotiation.
Writing on X, Jalali said Afghanistan and the United States should engage politically and economically on the basis of mutual respect and shared interests, but that any US military presence in Afghanistan is “unacceptable.”
He stressed that foreign forces have “never been accepted by Afghans” and were firmly rejected during the Doha talks, while noting that avenues for cooperation in other areas remain open.