Explosion, Heavy Gunfire As Afghan Troops Shoot At Pakistani Aircraft In Kabul

Last Updated:March 01, 2026, 07:46 IST

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that Afghan forces were firing at aircraft coming from Pakistan.

Pakistan-Afghanistan Clashes: An explosion followed by multiple rounds of gunfire were heard in central Kabul before dawn on Sunday, news agency AFP reported, with the Taliban government saying Afghan forces were shooting at a fresh incursion by Pakistani aircraft amid border clashes.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that Afghan forces were firing at aircraft coming from Pakistan. He said that guns were being fired overhead and urged residents not to panic.

“Anti-aircraft fire is being carried out in Kabul against Pakistani aircraft. Citizens should not be concerned. Anti-Pakistani aircraft attacks, air defense operations are being carried out in Kabul; Kabul fellow citizens, do not be worried," he said.

The latest incident comes amid days of escalating cross-border clashes. Afghan authorities said they launched an offensive along the frontier on Thursday in response to earlier Pakistani air strikes that they said killed civilians. Pakistan, for its part, said its strikes targeted militants.

Islamabad acknowledged bombing key Afghan cities on Friday, including Kabul and Kandahar, home to Afghanistan’s supreme leader. Afghan officials accused Pakistan of killing civilians in multiple attacks — allegations Islamabad has not commented on.

In rural Kandahar, construction workers said two air strikes hit their site on Sunday, killing three people, according to the site manager. “Everything went dark before our eyes," said 20-year-old Enamullah, who gave only one name. “I came from Kabul just to earn a piece of bread."

Afghanistan’s deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said Pakistani fire had killed 30 civilians across the eastern provinces of Khost Province, Kunar Province and Paktika Province since Thursday. Casualty claims from both sides could not be independently verified.

On the road between Kabul and the border, an AFP journalist in Jalalabad reported hearing a jet and two explosions on Saturday. Afghan security forces claimed they had downed a Pakistani fighter jet and captured its pilot, a claim Islamabad dismissed as “totally untrue."

Residents in Paktika described ongoing exchanges of fire, while in Khost some families fled their homes near the frontier. “The bombardments started, children, women, everyone just got out," said Mohammad Rasool, 63. “Some didn’t have shoes, some weren’t veiled."

Pakistan’s information minister said Saturday that 37 locations across Afghanistan had been hit by air strikes since operations began, adding that 12 Pakistani soldiers had been killed. Afghan officials, meanwhile, claimed more than 80 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 27 military posts captured. Pakistan said nearly 300 Afghan soldiers and militants had died — figures that remain unverified.

Afghanistan’s defence ministry said it had also carried out air strikes on Pakistani territory in recent days, which observers suggested may have involved drones.

Islamabad declared “open war" on Friday against the Taliban authorities, while Kabul called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.

The current escalation marks the most severe fighting since October, when clashes left more than 70 people dead and led to the closure of most land border crossings between the two neighbours.

(With inputs from agencies)

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