India sides with Taliban, Pakistan and China, slams Trump bid to take over Bagram base in Afghanistan

In an unexpected turn of events, India has joined the Taliban, Pakistan, China and Russia to oppose US President Donald Trump's bid to take over the Bagram air base in Afghanistan.

- S VENKAT NARAYAN, OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

This comes days before the scheduled visit of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi from 9-16 October.

While not naming Bagram, a sharply worded joint statement issued by participants of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan said on Tuesday: “They (the participants) called unacceptable the attempts by countries to deploy their military infrastructure in Afghanistan and neigh-bouring states, since this does not serve the interests of regional peace and stability.”

The seventh meeting of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan was held in Moscow at the level of special representatives and senior officials of Afghanistan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. A delegation from Belarus also attended the meeting as guests.

"For the first time, the Afghan delegation headed by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi participated in the meeting as a member," the statement said.

Trump has demanded that Afghanistan's ruling Taliban hand over the country's Bagram air base to Washington, five years after he signed a deal with the group that paved the way for the US withdrawal from Kabul.

At a press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on September 18, Trump said the US government was "trying to get (Bagram) back". "We gave it to (the Taliban) for nothing. We want that base back," he said.