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Khalilzad rejects claims that China controls former US base in Afghanistan
In a statement posted Saturday on X, Khalilzad wrote: “I do not believe the report that Communist China now controls the strategic Bagram Airbase. It is not true.”
Former U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has firmly denied reports suggesting that China has taken control of Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, countering repeated assertions made by President Donald Trump.
In a statement posted Saturday on X, Khalilzad wrote: “I do not believe the report that Communist China now controls the strategic Bagram Airbase. It is not true.”
His remarks come after Trump publicly repeated claims that China has assumed control over the airbase—once the largest U.S. military installation in Afghanistan—describing the situation as a major strategic failure stemming from the 2021 withdrawal.
Trump, who returned to office in January 2025, has sharply criticized his predecessor, Joe Biden, over the exit from Afghanistan. In recent public remarks, Trump stated that Bagram’s location, near China’s western border and its nuclear facilities, makes it a critical military asset. He described the U.S. pullout as a “disaster” that has “handed a strategic gift to China.”
Earlier this week, Khalilzad had shared a link to one such report claiming Chinese control over Bagram. In a follow-up post, however, he clarified that he does not endorse the claim and has seen no credible evidence supporting it.
Bagram Airbase, located just north of Kabul, served as the central hub of American and NATO operations for nearly 20 years. Since the U.S. withdrawal in August 2021, the airfield has been under the control of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. No verifiable evidence has emerged indicating that Chinese forces or officials have taken over its operations.
Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly and head of the Pakhtunkhwa Awami National Party, has said that if capable statesmen had been in power, people living on both sides of the Durand Line could have moved freely across the line.
Speaking during a podcast interview, Achakzai said that countries with histories of major conflict, including Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom, now maintain far more open borders despite past wars. He said that in many such regions, only a “paper line” remains, with limited border restrictions.
Drawing comparisons with the disputed Durand Line boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Achakzai argued that a similar arrangement could have been possible in South Asia.
“What is the problem here? A Punjabi could dance in Kandahar and a Pashtun could come here. Even if we are not formally one country, we could have effectively functioned like one,” he said.
The Pakistani politician also referred to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the later U.S.-led intervention, saying Afghanistan has the right to seek war reparations from those countries to support reconstruction efforts.
Achakzai further criticised the treatment of Pashtuns in Pakistan, alleging that individuals in cities including Lahore and Karachi have faced detention and deportation.
Kyrgyzstan has completed major construction work on its territory under the regional energy project CASA-1000, according to a recent report by the Eurasian Stabilization and Development Fund (ESDF). With key infrastructure now in place, further progress on the project depends on the completion of construction in Afghanistan, which is expected by the end of 2027.
The report notes that Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan have largely finalized their respective infrastructure components and are now awaiting the completion of the Afghan section before moving forward with full operational stages.
The CASA-1000 project, valued at approximately $1.2 billion, aims to establish a high-voltage electricity transmission line linking Central and South Asia. The initiative is designed to enable Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to export surplus hydropower during summer months, when electricity demand rises in Pakistan and Afghanistan due to increased use of cooling systems.
Construction work in Afghanistan was suspended in August 2021, at a stage when only about 18 percent of transmission structures had been installed, although more than 90 percent of equipment had already been delivered to the country. Following extended negotiations and security assurances, work on the Afghan section resumed in December 2024.
ESDF experts say that once construction in Afghanistan is completed, participating countries will be able to begin technical testing of the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) system. A full launch of the regional energy corridor is expected by the end of 2027, marking a significant milestone in regional energy integration between Central and South Asia.
Afghan scholars have described the “martyrdom” of Maulana Muhammad Idris, a prominent Pakistani religious scholar, as a major loss and have extended their condolences over his death to all scholars worldwide, particularly to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan.
In a condolence message, Afghan scholars stated: “Killing scholars is a grave injustice that brings the wrath and anger of Almighty Allah and is considered an unforgivable crime. We, the scholars of Afghanistan, strongly condemn such actions.”
They also urged the government of Pakistan to take serious measures to prevent the targeting of religious scholars.
Maulana Muhammad Idris was killed on Tuesday in an armed attack in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
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