Pakistan army losing to Taliban in war? Pak fighter jet crashes in Afghanistan as clash worsens

A Pakistani fighter jet has crashed near Afghanistan’s eastern city of Jalalabad, where Taliban authorities say their forces shot the aircraft down and captured the pilot alive after he ejected and parachuted into a city district amid intensifying cross-border strikes. Residents and journalists reported hearing jets roaring overhead followed by powerful explosions around Jalalabad’s airport hours before the downing, as Pakistan and the Taliban-led government trade air and artillery blows in what Islamabad has branded an “open war,” even as Kabul signals fresh willingness to enter negotiations after Pakistani strikes on Kabul, Kandahar and other cities left both sides fearing a deeper regional spiral.