FACT CHECK: Pakistani female fighter pilot did not strike Kabul

Social media users claimed a female fighter pilot of the Pakistan Air Force flew a Mirage jet that launched an air strike against terrorists in Kabul, Afghanistan.

A social media user posted a small video on X, formerly Twitter, with the caption, “A woman pilot flew the Mirage that struck Kabul, pride of the nation.

The video has 252,000 views. Similar posts appeared online here, here, and here.

Several other social media users also shared the video calling women fighter pilots of ‘Pride of the Nation’ for attacking terrorists’ outfits in Afghanistan.

Fact Check has found the claim as incorrect.

Pakistan state media PTV has reported that the Pakistan armed forces conducted “precision strikes” in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province and the capital Kabul. However, the identity of the pilot in the attack has not been revealed.

The video can be viewed here.

The woman in the picture is Flight Lieutenant Ambreen Gul. The accompanying video is from a news report by AFP news agency published on YouTube over 1 years ago on March 8, 2010.

The video titled, “Sky’s the limit for Pakistan women fighter pilots” that focuses on women who became the country’s first female pilots.

It could be confirmed whether Ms Gul is still a serving or active fighter pilot in air force.

The post also claims that a Mirage jet was used in the airstrike. There has been no confirmation by the Pakistan military of the government on the aircraft used in the attack.

The Pakistan Air Force is one of the largest operators of the Dassault Mirage III and Mirage 5 with a fleet strength of around 156 aircraft. However, the aircraft have gradually been replaced with the Chinese JF 17 jets.

Fact Check concluded that the claims that she or a woman flew the fighter jet that struck Kabul is false.