ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government has rejected claims by Afghan Taliban officials and amplified by Indian media that a Pakistani fighter jet was shot down over eastern Afghanistan and its pilot captured, describing the reports as part of a “coordinated disinformation campaign”.
Earlier, officials of Afghanistan’s Taliban-led administration had alleged that their forces had downed a Pakistani aircraft in Nangarhar province. The claim was later amplified by several Indian media outlets and regional platforms.
The reports surfaced amid the ongoing conflict between the two neighbours.
🔎 Fact Check | Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Title: False Report by Afghan News Agencies amplified by Indian Media outlets & khaleej Times about “Pakistani Jet Shot Down in Nangarhar; Pilot Captured”
🟠 Claim (circulated by Afghan Taliban officials & amplified by… pic.twitter.com/698PtX86fv
— Fact Checker MoIB (@FactCheckerMoIB) February 28, 2026
Claim originated from Taliban officials
According to AFP, Afghan military and police officials in Jalalabad said an aircraft had been shot down in Nangarhar and that the pilot was “captured alive”.
The claims came after days of conflict along the Pak-Afghan border. Pakistan has accused Kabul of allowing terrorist groups to use Afghan territory to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
No Pakistani aircraft loss
In response, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) issued a detailed fact-check, categorically rejecting the allegation.
“The claim that a Pakistani fighter jet was shot down in Nangarhar and its pilot captured is false,” the ministry said.
“No aircraft loss has been verified. No pilot capture evidence exists. Circulated visuals are recycled and unrelated.”
Pakistani authorities said the armed forces had reported no loss of aircraft.
They added that no independent international media organisation or defence monitoring agency had verified the Taliban’s claim.
Officials stressed that the allegation relied solely on statements attributed to Afghan officials without corroboration from neutral or third-party sources.
No physical or satellite evidence
The ministry said there was no visual or physical proof to support the claim.
“No crash debris, wreckage site imagery or verified evidence of a captured pilot has been presented,” the statement said.
It added that in modern conflicts, aircraft crashes are typically documented quickly through satellite imagery, geolocation analysis and independent reporting. No such verification has emerged in this case.
Unrelated and predated videos
Pakistani officials also addressed videos circulating on social media purporting to show evidence of the crash. They said the footage was unrelated and predated the current claim.
An image shared by Afghan broadcaster TOLO News, allegedly depicting a downed jet, was also rejected by Islamabad.
The ministry said the photograph corresponded to a Russian aircraft incident in Turkiye in 2021 and had been recycled to support the current narrative.
Reusing unrelated crash imagery, officials said, was a deliberate attempt to construct a false account of events.
Coordinated disinformation
The Pakistani government described the reports as part of what they called an “India–Afghan propaganda ecosystem”.
They said multiple misleading or recycled videos had been circulating in recent days and had been debunked.
The jet claim, they argued, fitted into the same pattern.
“No credible defence analysis suggests Afghan forces possess the operational capability demonstrated in the claim,” the ministry said.
Verdict
Based on available evidence and official statements, there is no independent verification that a Pakistani fighter jet was shot down in Nangarhar or that a pilot was captured.
Pakistani authorities maintain that no aircraft loss occurred and that the circulated images and videos are unrelated to the current conflict.
