Afghan Taliban rejects Trump threats over taking back Bagram airbase

 The Taliban has rejected United States President Donald Trump’s demand

 that it hand over the Bagram airbase that Washington ran during its 20-year war in Afghanistan, dismissing Trump’s threat that “bad things” will happen if this does not come to pass.

An Afghan soldier stands guard at the gate of the United States' Bagram airbase in Parwan province on the day the last US troops vacated it, July 2, 2021 [Mohammad Ismail/Reuters]

The Taliban said on Sunday that “Afghanistan’s independence and territorial integrity are of the utmost importance” and called on the US to uphold prior agreements that it would not resort to force.