Pakistan fighter jets strike Kabul as 2026 war with Afghanistan escalates.

Afghan authorities said air defense units engaged Pakistani jets over Kabul after explosions were reported in the city before sunrise.

On March 1, 2026, Afghan authorities said air defense units opened fire at Pakistan Air Force fighter jets over Kabul after blasts and gunfire shook the capital before sunrise. The engagement marks a new escalation in the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan war that began on February 21, 2026. The confrontation comes after Pakistan launched airstrikes in eastern Afghan provinces and Afghanistan announced retaliatory operations along multiple border sectors.
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The Pakistan Air Force currently has 388 fighter jets in service, including 75 F-16s, 156 JF-17 fighters in several blocks, 49 Mirage IIIs, 37 Mirage 5s, and 53 F-7PG interceptors. (Picture source: Pakistani Air Force)

Explosions echoed across parts of Kabul and were followed by bursts of gunfire, with Afghan authorities saying air defense attacks targeted Pakistani fighter jets over the city while urging residents not to be concerned. The confrontation unfolded after a week of Pakistani strikes against Afghan government installations following accusations that Kabul was harboring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants, an accusation Afghanistan rejected while saying its territory would not be used against other states. The fighting, the heaviest in years between the neighbors, has raised concerns of a protracted conflict along their 2,600-km border, as both sides reported heavy losses and issued differing casualty figures. 

The 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan war began on February 21, 2026, when the Pakistan Air Force conducted airstrikes in Nangarhar, Paktika, and Khost provinces with the stated aim of targeting seven alleged militant camps belonging to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Islamic State Khorasan Province in retaliation for attacks in Islamabad, Bajaur, and Bannu. Afghan officials said the strikes hit civilian targets and religious centers and reported 18 civilian fatalities in Nangarhar province, while Pakistan denied targeting civilians and cited militant fatalities. UN figures later confirmed 13 Afghan civilians killed and 7 injured in Pakistani airstrikes, and Afghan authorities also reported 37 Afghan civilians killed and 26 injured during the hostilities.

The escalation followed the collapse of a fragile October 2025 ceasefire and mounting cross-border incidents in the months preceding February 2026. On February 26, 2026, Afghan authorities announced a retaliatory operation along the border in Nangarhar, Nuristan, Kunar, Khost, Paktia, and Paktika provinces, claiming 55 Pakistani soldiers killed, several captured, one military headquarters and 19 border outposts captured, and 4 outposts destroyed during a four-hour engagement. Pakistani officials rejected those figures and said two Pakistani soldiers were killed and three were injured in the exchange, adding that Taliban forces suffered heavy losses.

Pakistan then launched Operation Ghazab Lil Haq with air and ground strikes in Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia, and Nangarhar, declaring a state of open war and reporting the destruction of two corps headquarters, three brigade headquarters, three battalion headquarters, two sector headquarters, two ammunition depots, one logistics base, more than 80 tanks, artillery pieces, and armored personnel carriers, 27 border posts destroyed, and nine captured. By March 1, Pakistan said 46 locations across Afghanistan had been hit since operations began and claimed 415 Afghan soldiers killed for the loss of 12 of its own, while Afghan officials said more than 80 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 27 military posts captured, with 13 Afghan soldiers killed and 11 injured.

Afghanistan’s armed forces involved in the conflict consist of the Afghan Armed Forces under the Islamic Emirate, including the Islamic National Army, the 201 Khalid Ibn Walid Corps, the 203 Mansoori Corps, and the Badri 313 Battalion, under the authority of Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Defense Minister Mullah Yaqoob. Personnel strength has been cited at 165,000 to 172,000 fighters, including 75,000 full-time troops and 90,000 local militia members, with plans to expand toward 200,000. Afghan officials indicated that only front-line forces were engaged in the initial stages and that the country had not yet fully deployed its military. The force structure relies heavily on infantry formations supported by light and medium equipment concentrated along border provinces and major urban centers, including Kabul and Kandahar.

Equipment available to Afghan forces includes thousands of U.S. military assets captured in 2021, among them Humvee, M1117 Guardian, MaxxPro MRAP, and Oshkosh ATV armored vehicles, alongside small arms such as M4 carbines and M16 rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, night-vision devices, body armor, and communications systems. For air defense, Afghan units have relied on old Soviet systems inherited from previous governments, including ZU-23-2 23 mm twin-barrel anti-aircraft guns, ZPU-1 and ZPU-2 14.5 mm anti-aircraft guns, DShK 12.7 mm heavy machine guns mounted on technical vehicles, and man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) such as Strela-2 and 9K38 Igla, where serviceable stocks remain. The Afghan Air Force operates a reduced fleet compared to Pakistan, including a small number of A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft, MD-530 helicopters, and transport helicopters, with operations during the 2026 conflict focused on air defense fire and local support missions rather than sustained strike campaigns. Constraints include maintenance capacity, spare parts shortages for missile systems, limited radar coverage, and exposure of fixed depots and headquarters to Pakistani airstrikes.

On the other side, Pakistan’s military forces engaged in the war include the Pakistan Armed Forces with 660,000 active personnel, of whom 560,000 serve in the Pakistan Army, supported by paramilitary formations such as the Frontier Corps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Major ground equipment inventories include more than 6,000 armored fighting vehicles and 4,600+ artillery pieces, enabling sustained fire support and cross-border operations through formations including XI Corps and XII Corps. Political and military leadership associated with the conflict includes President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, and Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif. The conflict has also involved artillery, air defense units, and coordinated air-ground operations along multiple sectors of the border.

The Pakistan Air Force fields 465 combat aircraft and 260+ helicopters, including 75 F-16 fighters comprising 44 F-16AM/BM Block 15 MLU, 13 F-16A/B ADF, and 18 F-16C/D Block 52+, 149 JF-17 fighters in several blocks, more than 80 Mirage III, 90 Mirage 5, 140 F-7PG interceptors, and at least 25 J-10C on order with expectations rising to 36. It operates airborne early warning aircraft, including Saab 2000 Erieye systems and four ZDK-03 based on the Y-8, aerial refueling via four Il-78MP tankers, and transport assets including 15 C-130 variants, supporting extended-range sorties and coordinated strike packages. A Special Services Wing of 1,200 personnel provides a dedicated air force special operations capability. The disparity in airpower, early warning, and refueling capacity has shaped the operational tempo, enabling repeated cross-border strikes on corps headquarters, ammunition depots, and border posts while Afghan forces concentrated on border engagements and air defense actions over urban centers.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.