Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday criticised the Centre over reports that India had closed its only overseas airbase, the Ayni airbase in Tajikistan, calling it a “setback for strategic diplomacy”.

In a post on X, Ramesh said India had established the Ayni airbase in the early 2000s and later expanded its infrastructure, with major plans to strengthen its presence there due to the site’s “extraordinary location”. However, he added that about four years ago, India was asked to “gradually withdraw”, and it now appeared that the base had been completely shut down.

“This is, without doubt, yet another setback for our strategic diplomacy,” Ramesh said, taking aim at the Modi government’s handling of foreign policy.

Located around 10 kilometres from Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe, the

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