President Trump reiterated call to reclaim the huge airbase, but Taliban says US must engage without seeking military presence.<\/p>\n
Published On 19 Sep 202519 Sep 2025<\/p>\n
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Afghanistan has rejected a call from President Donald Trump for the United States military to return to the country and reclaim the Bagram airbase.<\/p>\n
A foreign ministry official declared on social media on Friday that Kabul is ready to engage, but maintained that the US will not be allowed to re-establish a military presence in the central Asian country.<\/p>\n
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Trump said on Thursday that his administration is pressing to \u201cget back\u201d the base at Bagram. The US president, who has long expressed hope of reclaiming the facility, noted that its position is strategically vital due to its proximity to China.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to get it back,\u201d Trump announced. \u201cWe gave it to [the Taliban] for nothing,\u201d he complained, adding that Bagram is \u201cexactly one hour away from where China makes its nuclear missiles\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, Taliban officials have dismissed the idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfghanistan and the United States need to engage with one another \u2026 without the United States maintaining any military presence in any part of Afghanistan,\u201d Zakir Jalal, a foreign ministry official, posted on social media.<\/p>\n
Kabul is ready to pursue political and economic ties with Washington based on \u201cmutual respect and shared interests,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Lying just north of Kabul, Bagram, which hosted a notorious<\/a> prison, served as the centre of the US military\u2019s operations during its two-decade occupation of Afghanistan.<\/p>\n