Afghanistan claims to have shot down a Pakistani fighter jet and captured the pilot, while Pakistan insists the story is false amid a "full-scale war" situation.
Afghan authorities revealed on Saturday, 28 Feb 2026 GMT+7, that their military shot down a Pakistani fighter jet and took the pilot into custody on the same day, but Pakistan denied this amid a war situation where both sides began attacking each other since the previous Friday.
The Afghan military and police stated the aircraft was shot down in Jalalabad city in the eastern part of the country. However, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told AFP news agency that the claim was completely untrue.
Nonetheless, AFP reporters heard jet aircraft flying over Jalalabad on Saturday, followed by two explosions near the city airport in Afghanistan. Locals told AFP they saw someone parachuting from the plane before being taken into custody.
Pakistan launched air strikes on several cities and provinces in Afghanistan on Friday, including Kabul and Kandahar—the stronghold of Haibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Afghan Taliban—after border tensions between the two countries escalated sharply over the past week.
The United States showed diplomatic support for Pakistan’s operations after Islamabad confirmed it would not halt attacks aimed at pressuring the Afghan government, which is accused of supporting armed groups hostile to Pakistan.
The Afghan Taliban government has consistently denied harboring armed groups, with a government spokesperson calling for “dialogue” to resolve the long-standing conflict. However, Pakistan’s defense minister said on Friday that the conflict has now become an “open war.”
The Afghan Ministry of Defense also revealed that it has conducted air strikes inside Pakistani territory over the past two days and began offensive operations along the border late Thursday night in response to Pakistan’s attacks.
Pakistan’s Information Minister announced on Saturday that since the start of their operations, they have carried out air strikes on 37 targets across Afghanistan.
Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid stated on Friday that Afghan forces have killed 55 Pakistani soldiers and captured several others, while reporting 13 of their own soldiers killed.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister’s spokesperson Mosharraf Zadeh claimed their attacks resulted in 297 deaths among Taliban and other armed militants, with 12 Pakistani soldiers killed.
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Source:cna