Kabul: US President Donald Trump has said that China has captured Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. Earlier in March also, Trump had claimed that the Chinese are operating Bagram. On this, the Taliban regime had issued a statement saying that Bagram is under their control. Chinese soldiers are not present here. Bagram is one of the issues that Trump has repeatedly reiterated after taking power in America in January this year. In such a situation, the question arises that what is Trump's attachment to Bagram and why is he worried about this airbase in Afghanistan.
The US has controlled Bagram Airbase for nearly two decades. The US military vacated it before leaving Afghanistan in 2021. Trump says that the Biden administration cleared the way for China by leaving Bagram. Actually, this airbase of Afghanistan is of great strategic importance. This is what bothers Trump.
Why is Bagram special
Bagram is the largest airbase in Afghanistan. It is located in the strategically important Parwan province, 60 km north of the capital Kabul. Parwan is said to be the key to controlling a large part of Afghanistan. Here this 2.6 km long Salang tunnel connects Kabul to Mazar Sharif and other cities in the north. From here highways go to Ghazni and Kandahar in the south and Bamiyan in the west. In such a situation, this province is connected to a large part of Afghanistan.
Bagram Air Base was built by the Soviet Union in the 1950s. It was the time of the Cold War. At that time both the US and the Soviet Union were trying to increase influence in Afghanistan. Bagram's importance grew especially during the Soviet-Afghan War of 1979-89, when Bagram became an important Soviet base. When jets from Russia flew from Bagram, the base was strengthened and military personnel began to be housed here.
Bagram after Russia left
After the Soviet Union left Afghanistan, the Bagram base became a battleground between Taliban and Northern Alliance fighters in the 1990s. This happened when the Taliban captured Kabul and Northern Alliance fighters controlled the mountain passes in the north. The airbase suffered heavy damage in this battle.
The US bombed Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks and captured the Bagram airbase. After this, Bagram remained an important base for the US military for two decades. During this time, the US expanded the base, spreading it to more than 77 square kilometers and built a new runway. Medical facilities and food joints were also built here.
After America, the base is under Taliban control
America decided to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in 2020. After this, America vacated Bagram by July 2021 and it went into the hands of the Taliban. A section of America had the idea of keeping Bagram with them. In September 2021, the then Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had said that to control Bagram, 5,000 American soldiers would have to be kept there and their lives would have been put at risk, which was a risky task.
Ever since leaving Afghanistan, there has been concern in the US about China's entry into Bagram. The reason for this is also that when most countries of the world are hesitant to join the Taliban, China has built relations with Afghanistan. In such a situation, America fears that the Taliban may hand over Bagram to China. This can rapidly increase China's influence over a large area.
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