Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD
Get unlimited access to 9,500+ magazines, newspapers and Premium stories for just
Try GOLD - Free
Taliban rejects Trump’s plan to reclaim Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan
Sunday Island
|September 21, 2025
“The Afghans have not accepted a military presence in history”
United States President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that he is working to reestablish a US presence at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, four years after America's chaotic withdrawal from the country left the base in the Taliban's hands.
Trump floated the idea during a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London as he wrapped up a state visit to the UK and tied it to the need for the US to counter its top rival, China.
Late Thursday, Zakir Jalaly, an official at the Taliban Foreign Ministry, dismissed the idea of the US returning to Bagram. "Afghanistan and the US need to interact with each other and can have economic and political relations based on mutual respect and common interests," Jalaly said on the social platform X.
He added: "The Afghans have not accepted a military presence in history, and this possibility was completely rejected during the Doha talks and agreement, but the door is open for further interaction."
(The Bagram Air Base) is in Parwan Province in Afghanistan, about an hour’s drive north of Kabul. It was originally built in the 1950s by the Afghan government with Soviet assistance. The Soviets used it heavily during their invasion (1979-89) as a major base of operations.
This story is from the September 21, 2025 edition of Sunday Island.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Sunday Island
Sunday Island
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov says Moscow open to compromise in talks with Ukraine
Russia is ready to reach a compromise with Ukraine provided its core interests are safeguarded, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, according to Russia Today.
1 mins
September 21, 2025
Sunday Island
Govt. yet to reveal its stance on Provincial Councils - CaFFE
Executive Director of the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) Manas Makeen has once again urged the government to reveal whether it will conduct the long overdue Provincial Council (PC) elections or abolish the PC system.
1 min
September 21, 2025
Sunday Island
Sinhala Theatre explored in the Seventies
Clearing shelves in a small section of my extensive library, I found quite a few that I had not read, placed there when I was tidying up the books in the main library.
12 mins
September 21, 2025
Sunday Island
Guarding the green: Shiranee on biodiversity
hiranee Yasaratne, BSL’s Senior Technical Advisor, holds a BSc (Hon) in Zoology and Environmental Science and a MSc in Molecular Biology and Gene Technology. She was formerly the Deputy Director General of the Central Environmental Authority and Country Representative of IUCN ( International Union for Conservation) Sri Lanka. In each role she has pushed for practical, science-based solutions to some of the island’s most pressing environmental problems. As Sri Lanka eyes a greener future, her work is a blueprint for how vision, knowledge and persistence can transform policy into practice. This September 24th and 26th, Colombo plays host to LIFE 2025 - a two-day celebration under the theme: ‘Biodiversity Means Business: A Decade of Impact, A Future of Action’, which will bring together, the nation’s most influential business leaders, academics, policymakers, and conservationists for knowledge exchange, policy dialogue, and collaboration. This is more than a celebration. It’s a catalyst for next-generation leadership in Sri Lanka’s nature economy. It is a chance for private sector leaders to align with global best practices, build resilience, and shape national policy.
7 mins
September 21, 2025
Sunday Island
The day all hell broke loose in July ’83 and coping with situation
(Excerpted from In Pursuit of Governance, autobiography of MDD Pieris)
5 mins
September 21, 2025
Sunday Island
Sri Lanka’s Tax Conundrum - 2025
lhe eagerly awaited Performance Tier of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) for 2024 has recently been published. It offers some context regarding the IRD's tax collections. There is room for wider disclosure that would improve transparency. The timeliness of the report's release could also be considerably enhanced. After all, most large corporations listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange publish their Annual Reports within two months of the financial year’s end.
6 mins
September 21, 2025
Sunday Island
SC launches the e-Courts Project
In a historic step towards building a modern, transparent, and citizen-focused judiciary, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, in collaboration with the Judicial Service Commission and the Ministry of Justice, officially launched the \"e-Courts\" Project, featuring a state-of-the-art Web Portal and an integrated e-Case Management System for all Court Houses.
2 mins
September 21, 2025
Sunday Island
Pastry pioneer among Sri Lanka’s Top 100
Lakshmi Kumari, Director of the International Sugar Campus, was felicitated at the Sri Lankan Top 100 Award Ceremony, held for the sixth consecutive year at the Bandaranaike International Conference Hall recently.
1 min
September 21, 2025
Sunday Island
Comment: Arundhati Roy's Mother Mary Comes to Me
My title reads 'Comment ...' I dare not claim this article to be a review of Arundhati's latest book, since she is too unique a writer for me to attempt criticizing.
2 mins
September 21, 2025
Sunday Island
A brief history of Fabianism in British Ceylon
In 1829 the Crown Colony of Ceylon was visited by two distinguished civil servants. Tasked by the British government to investigate the state of the colony and the future of its administration, they came up with a set of sweeping reforms that would shape the political structure of the country over the next century. Known as the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission, and named after its two authors, the document has since been ranked among the most important set of reforms in the British Empire.
6 mins
September 21, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size