Did India Just Lose Strategic Foothold Against Pakistan? Reports Claim IAF Vacated Ayni Air Base in Tajikistan | India News

Ayni Air Base was the first overseas base of the Indian Air Force located in Tajikistan. The base was strategic as it gave India an advantage over Pakistan and China due to its location and proximity. By quietly modernizing its air base in the mountains of Tajikistan, India has reshaped the strategic landscape of South Asia and emerged as a potential geopolitical lever, especially in relation to Pakistan.

Located about 15 kilometers west of Dushanbe, Ayni Air Base, once a decaying Soviet-era facility, has become a major strategic asset for India. The base, which lay dormant during the civil war in Tajikistan in the 1990s, was revived in 2002 with a $70 million Indian investment launched at the height of the US-led war on terrorism in Afghanistan.

By 2010, India had completed major upgrades, including a 3,200-metre runway, reinforced aircraft shelters, fuel storage facilities and modern air traffic control systems, making the Ayni capable of handling heavy lift carriers such as the Ilyushin-76 and multirole fighter aircraft such as the Sukhoi Su-30MKI.

However, if reports are to be believed, India has lost an important strategic foothold in Central Asia after it was asked to vacate the Ayni Air Base in Tajikistan; This marks the end of a two-decade-long presence that provided New Delhi with critical operational depth near Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Around 150 Indian personnel, including members of the Border Roads Organization (BRO), who helped build and maintain the facility, were deployed here. According to information obtained, Tajikistan requested India to withdraw its assets and personnel from the base a few months ago. Analysts attribute this move to increasing geopolitical pressure from China and Russia, which have deep strategic ties with Tajikistan.

It has been reported that Beijing, which shares a 470-kilometer border with the Central Asian country, is disturbed by India’s proximity to the region. Moscow, meanwhile, has long maintained that it opposes any extraterritorial military presence in areas that were once part of its traditional sphere of influence.

The closure of Ayni effectively reduces India’s strategic reach in Central Asia at a time when regional power dynamics are being reshaped by China’s growing influence and Russia’s renewed assertiveness.