Taliban threatens war over Bagram, warns Pakistan it will be treated as 'enemy state' for aiding US

A convoy of Taliban security personnel moves along a street as they celebrate the fourth anniversary of their takeover of Afghanistan in Kabul on August 15, 2025. (AFP)

The Afghan Taliban has escalated tensions in the region by openly threatening war if the United States attempts to retake the strategic Bagram Air Base. In a high-level leadership meeting held in Kandahar, the group also issued a sharp warning to Pakistan, saying any cooperation with Washington would place Islamabad in direct confrontation with the Taliban.

According to CNN-News18, the session was convened by Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and brought together cabinet members, intelligence chiefs, military commanders and the Council of Ulema to discuss US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks. Trump had hinted at the possibility of reclaiming Bagram and warned that if the Taliban did not comply, “bad things” could follow.

Taliban insiders told CNN-News18 that the leadership unanimously rejected any scenario in which Bagram could be handed over to American forces, declaring the group would “fully prepare for war” if attacked.

Pakistan caught in the crosshairs

The Kandahar meeting also produced an unambiguous message for Islamabad. Taliban sources quoted by CNN-News18 said the leadership has decided that if Pakistan facilitates or supports the United States “logistically, diplomatically, or militarily” it will be treated as an enemy state by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

This warning comes at a time when Pakistan is preparing for a top-level diplomatic engagement with the Trump administration. Analysts argue that Islamabad’s decades-long policy of playing both sides has left it exposed to direct threats from groups it once supported. The Taliban’s public framing of Pakistan as a potential “enemy” underscores how far relations have deteriorated since the US withdrawal.

Taliban looks to rally regional powers

To counter what it sees as an imminent threat, the Taliban leadership has assigned Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to urgently reach out to major global and regional powers. CNN-News18 reports that Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia and even India will be contacted to convey the Taliban’s position and warn against any escalation initiated by the United States.

In a rare piece of diplomatic signalling, Taliban officials also told CNN-News18 that the Islamic State group in Afghanistan is “following the spirit of the Doha Agreement,” suggesting that ISIS is not currently viewed as a destabilising force by the regime.

Rising risk of regional confrontation

The Taliban’s refusal to surrender Bagram, its warning of renewed war, and its open threat to Pakistan signal a rapidly escalating standoff. For Islamabad, which has sought to position itself as an intermediary between Washington and Kabul, the risk of being branded an “enemy state” by the Taliban highlights how its long-standing policies may now be backfiring, isolating Pakistan even within the militant networks it once nurtured.