A Pakistani fighter jet reportedly crashed in Jalalabad on Saturday, with Afghan forces claiming they captured the pilot after loud explosions were heard near the city’s airport, according to AFP. The blasts were preceded by the sound of a jet overhead and appeared linked to escalating border tensions.
Afghanistan said its military and police shot down the aircraft in Jalalabad. However, Pakistan’s foreign ministry dismissed the claim as “a false claim” and “totally untrue”.
Tit-For-Tat Strikes Intensify At Frontier
The confrontation has rapidly escalated into sustained military exchanges involving airstrikes, drone attacks and ground operations across the Pakistan–Afghanistan border.
Pakistan launched air and missile strikes under what it called ‘Operation Ghazab lil Haq’, targeting locations in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia, according to Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid. The strikes extended to Paktia, Paktika, Khost and Laghman.
In Kabul, thick black smoke rose from at least two locations, with a large blaze visible in verified videos. Mujahid said there were civilian casualties but provided no further details.
Pakistan described the operation as involving air-to-ground missile strikes on Taliban military offices and posts, according to Reuters.
Afghan Retaliation Under ‘Operation Rad al-Zulm’
Taliban-led forces responded with drone strikes targeting Pakistani military camps in Miranshah and Spinwam under Operation ‘Rad al-Zulm’, according to security sources cited by TOLOnews.
Afghan forces also attacked several border check posts following Pakistan’s air raids. Pakistan continued overnight operations, with its Air Force targeting Taliban positions in Nangarhar while ground troops captured and destroyed multiple border posts, according to The Dawn.
The escalation began after Pakistan conducted airstrikes inside Afghanistan last weekend. Afghan forces retaliated late Thursday with drone strikes on Pakistani military installations in the northwest.
Pakistan said it was targeting the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an outlawed militant group allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban, while Afghanistan said civilians were killed in the earlier airstrikes.
Heavy Casualty Claims From Both Sides
Pakistan claimed its strikes killed 274 Taliban officials and militants. Separately, Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said 331 Afghan personnel were killed and more than 500 wounded during recent operations.
Afghanistan said it killed 55 Pakistani soldiers, while Pakistan confirmed that 12 of its soldiers had died. Afghan authorities said 13 Taliban fighters were killed.
These casualty figures could not be independently verified.
Pakistan’s military also destroyed dozens of Afghan military posts, seized several others and damaged tanks and armoured vehicles, officials said.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif declared, “Our patience has now run out. Now it is open war between us.”
Expanding Military Actions
Pakistan’s military carried out sustained air and artillery strikes deep inside Afghanistan, targeting multiple installations and military positions.
Pakistani and Afghan forces have engaged each other since Thursday night, when Afghanistan launched cross-border attacks in response to Pakistan’s earlier airstrikes.
Pakistan’s military also destroyed an Afghan post in the Ghulam Khan sector and foiled an infiltration attempt in the Qila Saifullah sector, killing several militants, according to PTV.
Meanwhile, Taliban authorities signalled readiness for dialogue, even as hostilities intensified.
US Backs Pakistan; Trump Praises Leadership
The United States expressed diplomatic support for Pakistan’s actions. Allison Hooker, the US under secretary of state for political affairs, said Washington “continue[s] to monitor the situation closely and expressed support for Pakistan’s right to defend itself against Taliban attacks.”
She added, “The Taliban have consistently failed to uphold their counterterrorism commitments, allowing violence to destabilize the region while terrorist groups use Afghanistan as a launching pad for their heinous attacks.”
US President Donald Trump praised Pakistan’s leadership, including field marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“You have a great prime minister, you have a great general there, you have a great leader. I think two of the people that I really respect a lot,” Trump said.
“I think Pakistan is doing terrifically well,” he added.
Global Calls Grow For Restraint And De-Escalation
International leaders have urged restraint amid fears of a wider regional conflict.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called for calm, saying, “The EU reiterates that Afghan territory must not be used to threaten or attack other countries and calls on the Afghan de facto authorities to take effective action against all terrorist groups operating in or from Afghanistan.”
Britain called for “de-escalation,” China urged a ceasefire, and Iran offered to mediate.
The latest violence marks one of the most serious escalations between Pakistan and Afghanistan in recent years, with sustained cross-border strikes, mounting casualties and rising diplomatic tensions.
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