Taliban spokesperson

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has claimed that American drones are still infiltrating Afghanistan’s airspace and these flights enter Afghanistan through some neighboring countries. In an interview given to Iranian broadcaster IRIB, Mujahid called it a blatant violation of the country’s sovereignty and raised the demand to stop these flights immediately.

Mujahid said in the interview that American drones are continuously conducting aerial surveillance of Afghanistan. Although he did not clarify through which neighboring country’s airspace these drones come, but earlier he had accused Pakistan of allowing such a route.

No one will get Bagram Airbase

Mujahid said that the Taliban is adopting a balanced and economy-centric foreign policy and it wants relations with all countries including America. The only condition is that the sovereignty of Afghanistan should be respected. When asked whether America could again establish a military presence in Afghanistan, Mujahid clearly said that the Taliban will not give even an inch of land to any foreign power.

He also rejected reports of presence of Chinese troops at Bagram Air Base and said that neither America nor China has returned and Taliban will not allow any country to build a military base. According to the Taliban spokesperson, the Taliban government has completed 70 percent of its programs in the last four years, but sanctions, travel restrictions and lack of international recognition are major challenges before them.

Tension on the border and allegations on Pakistan

This claim of the Taliban spokesperson has come at a time when tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan is at its peak. Last week, Mujahid once again accused Pakistan of breaking the ceasefire. There was a ceasefire between the two countries on 15 October, which was extended in subsequent meetings in Doha and Istanbul. Despite this, the tension on the border seems to be increasing instead of decreasing.