United States President Donald Trump has threatened Afghanistan with bad consequences if the Taliban government fails to hand over Bagram Air Base, which was left by the US forces during their 2021 withdrawal from the country.
The US troops in July 2021 evacuated from the country a month before the Taliban seized control of Kabul, toppling the UN-backed government and ending the 20-year-long American occupation of the country.
Trump earlier said that he was seeking to take control of the airbase, which he said was close to China’s nuclear facilities. Trump on his Truth Social account, “If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, bad things are going to happen!!”
Meanwhile, the China- and Russia-backed Taliban government has ruled out any possibility of the return of US forces. China, on Saturday, brushed aside Trump’s hollow claim and said that “Trump was trying to stir up tension and confrontation in the region.”
Trump has the habit of making claims and later backtracking on his statements. He said China was using the Bagram air base for their own purposes, including conducting spy missions in the Arabian Sea, though he hasn’t shared any evidence suggesting China’s clandestine operations.
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Both Beijing and the Taliban have slammed Trump’s irresponsible statements. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson went a step further and said, “China respects Afghanistan’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Afghanistan’s future should rest in the hands of the Afghan people.”
“Stirring up tension and confrontation in the region will not be supported,” he added. A day earlier, Zakir Jalaly, a diplomat at the Afghan Foreign Ministry, said the current dispensation sees no role for US involvement in the country; it is not going to happen.
He argued that Kabul and Washington should pursue mutually respectful economic and political ties “without the US maintaining any military presence in any part of Afghanistan.”
Also Read: Trump seeks control of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan
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