The Taliban leadership has decided it will not hand over Bagram air base to the United States and is preparing to resume war if Washington attempts to seize it, according to details of high-level meetings in Kandahar obtained by Amu.
Multiple sources confirmed that Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has held a series of meetings in Kandahar in recent days with senior cabinet ministers, intelligence chiefs, military commanders and members of the council of clerics. The discussions followed repeated remarks by President Trump that Washington intends to retake the Bagram air base. Trump has warned that if the Taliban refuse, “bad things” will happen.
Sources said Taliban commandos have been deployed in force around Akhundzada’s residence in Kandahar.
The residence, located in a guesthouse belonging to a local businessman in the Aino Mina area near the historic Mandigak Palace, has been placed under strict security. Internet services in the area have been cut off, and the use of phones and other communication devices has been banned, the sources added.
Those who have traveled to Kandahar for consultations include Taliban Higher Education Minister Neda Mohammad Nadeem; the Taliban’s communications minister; the Taliban governor of the central bank; their Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid; senior Taliban officials from the intelligence agency; and their Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. Taliban Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani was also reported to have attended.
Sources said these meetings focused heavily on the possibility of US military action to retake Bagram. Participants agreed that any handover of the base was “impossible” and that the Taliban would resume fighting if attacked.
According to the sources, the Taliban are preparing for two possible paths: issuing a declaration of their position through an “emergency meeting” if further warnings come from Washington, or pursuing the matter diplomatically through their political office in Qatar in an effort to delay confrontation.
A day earlier, five sources, including two from Akhundzada’s office, said some senior Taliban officials have warned their leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, that US forces could return to Afghanistan if the Taliban refuse to engage with Washington, according to sources familiar with recent high-level meetings in Kandahar.
At the Kandahar meetings, some Taliban officials warned Akhundzada that refusing to engage with the United States could increase the likelihood of an American military return. They argued that under the 2020 Doha agreement, Washington could claim grounds to use Afghan territory for counterterrorism purposes.
According to the sources, three main points emerged from the discussions, some Taliban officials told Akhundzada that the US, citing the Doha deal, could use Afghan territory to fight terrorism.
Akhundzada rejected any foreign military presence at Bagram but emphasized the need to maintain political engagement with the world.
Trump has mentioned reclaiming Bagram at least four times in the past week, calling the airfield — once America’s largest military installation in Afghanistan — a strategic priority.
Bagram was the hub of US military operations during the 20-year war before it was handed over to Afghan forces and later captured by the Taliban after the withdrawal of US troops in August 2021. In recent years, Trump has repeatedly framed Bagram as critical to US strategy against China and terrorism.
Taliban officials have publicly rejected the possibility of handing over Afghan territory. Last week, the Taliban issued a statement urging the United States to honor the 2020 Doha agreement and adopt what they called a “realistic and rational approach” instead of attempting to “repeat failed experiences of the past.”
