Kabul urges US to not 'threaten' Afghanistan's territorial integrity after Trump warns of 'bad things' happening

ISTANBUL

Kabul on Sunday urged the US to not “threaten” Afghanistan’s territorial integrity after President Donald Trump warned "bad things" would happen if the interim Taliban administration does not cede control of Bagram Air Base to the Pentagon.

"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," Hamdullah Fitrat, the interim administration deputy spokesman, wrote on US social media company X.

He said that under the 2020 Doha Agreement, the US vowed that “it will not use or threaten force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Afghanistan, nor interfere in its internal affairs.”

Under the 2020 deal between the Taliban and Trump's first administration, all foreign forces vacated Afghanistan by 2021, after which the Taliban formed an interim administration, which now rules the war-scarred country.

Fitrat urged the US side to “remain faithful to their (Doha) commitments,” calling on Washington to adopt a policy of “realism and rationality” rather than “repeating past failed approaches.”

Separately, Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat, the Afghan armed forces chief of General Staff, said Sunday that “some” want to take back Bagram through “political interaction,” according to Tolo News.

Fitrat hit back, saying: “Ceding even an inch of our soil to anyone is out of the question and impossible.”

“Relying on Almighty Allah, we fear no one, no oppressor or bully, and we proved this through 20 years of struggle against occupation by the United States and its allies,” he added.

Similarly, as reported by Xinhua News, interim Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid (Mullah Yaqoob) said defiantly: "Our answer is, if you don't leave and want bases, we're ready to fight you for another 20 years."

The remarks from Kabul came after Trump on Saturday issued a warning on his social media company Truth Social, writing: "If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!"

Bagram, located north of Kabul, was the largest US installation during the 20-year war in Afghanistan before America’s full withdrawal in 2021.