Fact Check: Taliban shoot down Pakistani jet? Here’s what really happened
A video has gone viral, claiming to show a Pakistani jet shot down by the Taliban.
By - M Ramesh Naik
Claim:The video shows a Pakistan Air Force jet shot down by the Taliban artillery.
Fact:The claim is false. The footage depicts an Indian Air Force MiG-21 crash in Barmer, Rajasthan, in 2022.
Hyderabad: Clashes continue along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, with reports of intense fighting in the Dan Pattani area of Afghanistan’s Paktia region.
According to sources, Pakistani troops have been forced to retreat, and several Pakistani drones and radar systems have reportedly been damaged during the exchange.
Amid this, a video, widely shared on social media, claims to show a Pakistani jet being shot down by Taliban forces near the Durand Line, escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The visuals in the video show a dramatic, fiery crash at night, with intense flames and smoke dominating the frame. The wreckage is scattered across a dark, possibly rural area, illuminated by the bright orange and red hues of the fire. Debris is visible, with parts of the aircraft burning fiercely, and the scene is chaotic, suggesting a recent catastrophic impact.
The video, shared by a user on X, with the caption, “BREAKING: Pakistani jet SHOT DOWN by Taliban fighters near Durand Line! Fiery crash footage emerges amid border fury air war erupts. Pakistan vs Afghanistan Game over for Pak skies? (sic)” (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter investigated the video and found that the claim is false. The footage is not of a Pakistani aircraft being shot down by the Taliban but rather an Indian Air Force MiG-21 crash that occurred in Barmer, Rajasthan, in 2022.
A reverse image search of a keyframe from the viral video led us to a report by India Today, dated July 28, 2022, detailing the crash of an IAF MiG-21 in Barmer district.
The article includes images and descriptions matching the viral video, reporting that two pilots were killed when the aircraft crashed, with debris scattered over a half-km stretch in Bhimda village.
We also found a YouTube video uploaded by Republic World on July 28, 2022, titled ‘IAF MiG-21 Aircraft Crashes Near Barmer In Rajasthan; Visuals Show Large Debris Spread’. It shows visuals of smoke, wreckage and terrain consistent with the crash site depicted in the viral post.
Given this evidence, we conclude that the viral video has been repurposed with a misleading narrative to promote a false claim.
The video claiming a Pakistani jet was shot down by Taliban forces is false. It shows the crash of an Indian Air Force MiG-21 in Rajasthan in 2022.
