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If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, bad things are going to happen.” US President Donal Trump.
Have you paid attention to this matter?
Bagram, the largest US military site in Afghanistan, is referred to as “the original sin of the evacuation” in Left Behind, the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations’ minority report from February 2022.
President Donald J Trump made the announcement of his attention to get Bagram back on his state visit to the UK recently. However, this wasn’t the first time he mentioned it.
“When the US withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, Republicans made the holding of Bagram a key point of their criticism towards how the Biden administration handled the US exit. The claim was that the US could have at least kept that airbase. Hence, Trump focusing on that base makes sense from the standpoint of addressing a grievance of his supporters towards the previous administration,” states Dr Paul Poast, Deputy Dean of Doctoral Education, Social Science Division and Associate Professor, Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago.
Trump has said that the US gave the Taliban “Bagram for nothing.” It is pertinent to recall that the pullout of US forces stemmed from an agreement struck in 2020 during Trump’s first term. The withdrawal was completed in 2021 under President Joe Biden.
According to Left Behind, “In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin later defended the decision to vacate Bagram arguing that retaining the air base would have required “putting as many as 5,000 US troops in harm’s way just to operate and defend.”
According to the BBC, in March, Trump stated that his intention to retain Bagram Air Base was “not because of Afghanistan, but because of China.” During a press conference on his state visit to the UK, alongside the British Premier, Keir Starmer, Trump re-emphasised the need to have it back as “It’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons.”
What Trump is referring to is most likely China’s Lop Nur testing site in the desert of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
It should be recalled that, under the Doha Agreement, the United States pledged that “it will not use or threaten force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Afghanistan, nor interfere in its internal affairs.”
Professor Poast mentions that “It could be quite useful for the US to have that airbase. It will enhance the US ability to carry out operations in or near China (as Trump himself indicated), and also Iran. Hence, it might be that Trump has realized the value of maintaining a US global presence.”
According to a BBC Verify investigation in July, a nuclear testing facility lies roughly 2,000 km away in northwestern China. However, after reviewing 30 satellite images from late 2020 through 2025, the BBC’s investigation found minimal activity at the base since the Taliban’s return and uncovered no evidence indicating any Chinese presence there.
Writing on X, Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief Taliban spokesman, urged Washington to pursue “realism and rationality” instead of repeating past mistakes.
“It has been consistently communicated to the United States in all bilateral negotiations that, for the Islamic Emirate, Afghanistan’s independence and territorial integrity are of the utmost importance.
It should be recalled that, under the Doha Agreement, the United States pledged that ‘it will not use or threaten force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Afghanistan, nor interfere in its internal affairs.’ It is necessary that they remain faithful to their commitments.
“Accordingly, it is once again underscored that, rather than repeating past failed approaches, a policy of realism and rationality should be adopted.”
The regional countries should be wary of the likely consequences of such a move. Pakistan, with its recent prominence and the fine balancing act with the US and China, needs to be cautious of the presence of an American base in the neighbourhood.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia now bound by a landmark Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement — treating an attack on either as an attack on both. The world is watching closely. Some more Arab nations may enter similar mutual defence deals.
The renewed US presence at Bagram could force Pakistan onto a perilous geopolitical tightrope.
The writer, a communications professional at IBA Karachi, holds a master’s degree in international relations. Her writing focuses on global affairs, climate change and culture. She can be reached on X: mariaamkahn (Please verify)