| Moscow – Afghanistan’s regional neighbors, including India and Pakistan, oppose the US Bagram plan, emphasizing regional stability concerns. Both countries have voiced a rare, unified front by opposing foreign attempts to deploy “military infrastructure” in the country, as United States President Donald Trump presses to regain control of the Bagram airbase. India has joined Taliban, Pakistan, China and Russia in opposing US President Donald Trump’s demand to take control of Afghanistan’s Bagram air base. In a joint statement on Tuesday, members of the Moscow Format of Consultations on Afghanistan – which includes rivals India and Pakistan – “reaffirmed their unwavering support for the establishment of Afghanistan as an independent, united and peaceful state”. The members “called unacceptable the attempts by countries to deploy their military infrastructure in Afghanistan and neighboring states, since this does not serve the interests of regional peace and stability”. The seventh Moscow Format meeting was held in Moscow, attended by senior officials and special representatives from Afghanistan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Belarus also attended as a guest. For the first time, the Afghan delegation, led by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, participated in the meeting as a full member. Bagram, 44km (27 miles) north of Kabul, was originally built by the Soviet Union in the 1950s. The base has two concrete runways – one 3.6km long (2.2 miles), the other 3km (1.9 miles) – and is one of the few places in Afghanistan suitable for landing large military planes and weapons carriers. Taken over by US-led NATO forces after the invasion of Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks, Bagram was a central facility in Washington’s so-called “war on terror”. |
Afghanistan’s neighbors Challenge US Bagram Plan
