Afghan military says pilot captured after Pakistan fighter jet crashes
"A Pakistani fighter jet was shot down in the sixth district of Jalalabad city, and its pilot was captured alive," police spokesman Tayeb Hammad said.
A Taliban security personnel standing near an anti-aircraft gun keeps watch for Pakistani airstrikes near the Durand Line in Gurbuz district of Khost province on February 27, 2026 following overnight cross-border fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan. (Credit: AFP)
JALALABAD — A Pakistani jet has crashed in Jalalabad city and the pilot captured alive, the Afghan military and police said Saturday, with residents telling AFP the man parachuted from the plane before being detained.
"A Pakistani fighter jet was shot down in the sixth district of Jalalabad city, and its pilot was captured alive," police spokesman Tayeb Hammad said.
Wahidullah Mohammadi, spokesman for the military in eastern Afghanistan, confirmed the Pakistani jet was downed by Afghan forces, "and the pilot was captured alive".
The announcement followed an AFP journalist hearing a jet over Jalalabad, followed by the sound of two explosions from the direction of the city's airport.
Residents stand near a damaged house following the overnight cross-border fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Bajaur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on February 27, 2026. Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan including the capital Kabul on February 27, with Islamabad's defence minister declaring the neighbours at "open war" following months of tit-for-tat clashes. (AFP Photo)
However, Islamabad's foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi told AFP: "That's a false claim. Totally untrue."
Pakistan launched air strikes on Friday on the Afghan capital Kabul and southern Kandahar, where Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is based.
The aerial attacks followed Afghan forces starting a border offensive against Pakistan late Thursday, which the Taliban government said came in response to prior Pakistani strikes on Afghanistan.