India expressed its opposition to the US's intention to reclaim Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan.
It issued a joint statement along with Pakistan, China, Russia and other neighbouring countries at the Moscow Format Consultations.
The US aims to reclaim the base for strategic and symbolic reasons.
India announced its opposition to US President Donald Trump’s indication to take back control of Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan. The announcement was made on Tuesday, 7 October 2025, as part of a joint statement issued by Afghanistan’s regional neighbours at the 7th session of the Moscow Format Consultations.
Members of the Moscow Format Consultations, a regional forum, stated that “the attempts by countries to deploy their military infrastructure in Afghanistan and neighbouring states” was unacceptable, “since this does not serve the interests of regional peace and stability.”
The forum is constituted by India, Russia, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and several Central Asian countries.
India announcement demonstrated a rare display of unity with neighbours like Pakistan and China. The move comes amidst the country’s recently worsening ties with the US, which has imposed steep tariffs on Indian imports and has deported several Indian nationals over the past year.
It also showed the country’s attempt to improve ties with the Taliban, which have long been fraught. Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is expected to make his first trip to New Delhi on 9 October 2025.
Addressing the Moscow forum, Muttaqi said, “Afghanistan is a free and independent country, and throughout history, it has never accepted the military presence of foreigners. Our decision and policy will remain the same to keep Afghanistan free and independent.”
The statement by the forum also reaffirmed the members’ support of Afghanistan: “The parties noted the need for development of economic and trade exchanges, investment cooperation of Afghanistan with regional countries and the international community. They expressed their interest in developing regional economic projects with Afghan participation and promoting steady progress in such fields as healthcare, poverty alleviation, agriculture and disaster prevention, so as to help Afghanistan realise independent and sustainable development at an early date. They supported the active integration of Afghanistan into the system of regional connectivity.”
In September 2025, US President Trump put forth his intention to reclaim Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan. He said “bad things are going to happen” if Afghanistan refused.
Bagram was the US military’s main base during its twenty-year war in Afghanistan. It functioned as a headquarters for US operations and a detention centre for prisoners taken during the ‘war on terror’.
It was a major storehouse for US weapons and remains one of the few places in the region where the US can park its large military planes and weapons carriers. Trump has claimed that the US left behind devastating weapons at the base, which he hopes to reclaim lest they end up in the hands of the Taliban, which took over the base in 2021, when US troops withdrew from Afghanistan.
US occupation of Bagram would also be a symbolic win over its rival, Russia, considering that the base was first constructed by the USSR in the 1950s, during the Cold War.
But most importantly, Bagram provides a geo-politically strategic location. Trump has said that the airbase is “an hour away from where [China] makes its nuclear weapons,” adding that this is one of the key reasons he wants to take back the base. [Rh/DS]
