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Afghanistan says it thwarted Pakistani airstrike on Bagram Air Base

March 01, 2026 5 min read International Relations Internal Security GS2 (International Relations Neighbourhood Policy Security)
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What Happened

  • The Taliban-run Afghan government announced it thwarted an attempted Pakistani airstrike on Bagram Air Base — the former American military installation north of Kabul — as the Afghanistan-Pakistan armed conflict entered its fourth day.
  • Officials in Parwan Province (where Bagram is located) said multiple Pakistani military jets entered Afghan airspace and attempted to bomb the airfield around 5:00 AM local time, but were repelled by Taliban air defence systems.
  • The incident follows Pakistan's "Operation Ghazab Lil Haq" (Righteous Fury) — launched February 26-27, 2026 — which involved airstrikes on major Afghan cities including Kabul and Kandahar, with Pakistan declaring an "open war" against the Taliban government.
  • Pakistan's stated rationale: the Taliban government shelters the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — designated a terrorist organisation by Pakistan — which had launched multiple deadly attacks inside Pakistan, including a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad (36 killed).
  • A Qatar-mediated ceasefire agreed in October 2025 had broken down; low-level clashes continued before the February 2026 escalation.
  • There was no immediate response from Pakistan's military or government to the Afghan claims about the Bagram airstrike attempt.

Static Topic Bridges

Bagram Air Base: History and Strategic Significance

Bagram Airfield (Bagram Air Base) is located approximately 60 km north of Kabul in Afghanistan's Parwan Province. Originally built by the Soviet Union in the 1950s, it became the centrepiece of Soviet military operations during the Soviet-Afghan War (1979-89). After 2001, the US and NATO rebuilt and expanded it into their largest military installation in Afghanistan.

  • At peak capacity (2009-10), Bagram housed ~10,000 military personnel and served as the primary hub for US air operations in Afghanistan.
  • The base includes a large detention facility (Bagram Detention Center/Parwan Detention Center) that held hundreds of Afghan and foreign detainees — a subject of international human rights scrutiny.
  • The US vacated Bagram on July 2, 2021, during the Biden Administration's withdrawal — without formally notifying the Afghan National Security Forces, causing a temporary breakdown in base security and looting.
  • The Taliban seized Bagram on August 15, 2021, as part of their rapid nationwide takeover following the US withdrawal.
  • In 2025, the Trump Administration discussed potentially reclaiming Bagram — underlining its enduring strategic value for monitoring China, Iran, and Central Asia.
  • Pakistani targeting of Bagram in 2026 reflects its significance as the largest military airfield in Afghanistan, now under Taliban control.

Connection to this news: Bagram's targeting by Pakistan illustrates how infrastructure built for one strategic purpose (US operations against Al-Qaeda/Taliban) has become an asset of a different government with different adversaries.

Pakistan-Afghanistan Tensions: The TTP Problem and the Durand Line

The Durand Line — the 2,640-km border between Pakistan and Afghanistan — is one of the world's most contested boundaries. Drawn in 1893 by British India's foreign secretary Mortimer Durand and signed by Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, it was never formally accepted by Afghan governments as an international boundary, and ethnic Pashtun communities straddle both sides.

  • The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, also known as Pakistani Taliban): a militant organisation distinct from — but ideologically linked to — the Afghan Taliban. It seeks to impose sharia law in Pakistan's tribal areas, and has carried out thousands of attacks inside Pakistan since 2007.
  • Following the Afghan Taliban's return to power in 2021, Pakistan initially expected the Taliban to rein in TTP. Instead, TTP attacks inside Pakistan surged — from 1,023 incidents in 2022 to over 1,500 in 2024.
  • Afghanistan (Taliban) denies sheltering TTP and accuses Pakistan of conducting airstrikes that kill Afghan civilians.
  • The Durand Line is not formally recognized by Afghanistan; this territorial ambiguity fuels cross-border tensions.
  • Prior ceasefire (October 2025) was mediated by Qatar — reflecting Doha's role as a preferred mediator in regional conflicts (also mediated the 2020 Doha Agreement between the US and the Afghan Taliban).

Connection to this news: Pakistan's airstrikes on Afghan territory — and the targeting of Bagram — reflect the collapse of any functional Afghanistan-Pakistan security framework and the fundamental irresolution of the Durand Line and TTP problem.

India's Interests in Afghanistan and the Pakistan Factor

India has historically maintained warm ties with Afghanistan, investing over $3 billion in reconstruction, infrastructure, and institution-building between 2001-2021. Key Indian projects include the Salma Dam (Herat), the Afghan Parliament building, the Zaranj-Delaram highway (connecting Afghanistan to Iran's Chabahar port), and multiple school construction and scholarship programs.

  • India-Afghanistan relations were disrupted by the Taliban's return to power in August 2021: India evacuated its embassy and consulates, and has not formally recognised the Taliban government.
  • India's strategic calculus: A stable, India-friendly Afghanistan reduces Pakistan's strategic depth (a Pakistani military doctrine of maintaining leverage in Afghanistan to counter India).
  • Chabahar link: The Zaranj-Delaram highway (built by India) connects Afghan trade to Iran's Chabahar port, giving Afghanistan a Pakistan-free trade route. This is existentially significant for Afghanistan given Pakistan's repeated use of border closures as leverage.
  • Pakistan accuses India of backing the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and TTP — allegations India denies.
  • The Pakistan-Afghanistan war of 2026 further complicates India's Chabahar-Afghanistan corridor, which depends on a stable Afghan border regime.

Connection to this news: A military confrontation between Pakistan and Afghanistan directly impacts Indian interests: the Chabahar-based connectivity corridor to Afghanistan, India's reconstruction investments, and the broader balance of power in South Asia.

Key Facts & Data

  • Bagram Air Base: ~60 km north of Kabul, Parwan Province; largest military airfield in Afghanistan.
  • Built: Soviet Union, 1950s; expanded massively by US post-2001.
  • US vacated: July 2, 2021; Taliban seized: August 15, 2021.
  • Pakistan-Afghanistan border (Durand Line): 2,640 km; drawn 1893; not formally accepted by Afghanistan as an international boundary.
  • Pakistan's Operation Ghazab Lil Haq: launched February 26-27, 2026; targeted Taliban military installations in Kabul and Kandahar.
  • TTP attacks in Pakistan: ~1,500+ per year (2024); linked to Afghanistan-based sanctuaries according to Pakistan.
  • Qatar Doha Agreement (February 29, 2020): US-Taliban withdrawal framework; Qatar also mediated Afghanistan-Pakistan ceasefire (October 2025).
  • India's investment in Afghanistan (2001-2021): over $3 billion in reconstruction and development projects.
  • Zaranj-Delaram highway (India-built, 2009): 218 km; connects southern Afghanistan to Iran's Zaranj border crossing and onwards to Chabahar.