Chief of the Air Staff | |
---|---|
رئیسِ عملۂ پاک فضائیہ | |
Ministry of Defence (Air Force Secretariat-II at MoD) Pakistan Air Force [1] | |
Abbreviation | CAS |
Member of | Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee National Security Council |
Reports to | Prime Minister of Pakistan Minister of Defence |
Residence | Air Headquarters, Islamabad |
Seat | Air Headquarters |
Nominator | Prime Minister of Pakistan |
Appointer | President of Pakistan |
Term length | 5 years Renewable |
Precursor | Commander-in-Chief |
Formation | 3 March 1972 |
First holder | Air Marshal Zafar Chaudhry |
Unofficial names | Air chief |
Deputy | Vice Chief of the Air Staff |
Salary | According to Pakistan Military officer's Pay Grade (apex Scale) |
Website | Official Website |
The Chief of the Air Staff [a] (reporting name: CAS) is a military appointment and a statutory office held by an Air Chief Marshal in the Pakistan Air Force, who is appointed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan with final confirmation by the President of Pakistan. The CAS is the highest-ranking officer of the Pakistan Air Force.
The Chief of the Air Staff is a senior most military appointment in the Pakistani military who is a senior member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee in a separate capacity, usually providing necessary consultation to the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee to act as a principal military adviser to the Prime Minister and its civilian government in the line of defending and guarding the nation's airspace and aerial borders. [2] : 40 [3]
The Chief of the Air Staff exercises his responsibility of command and control of the operational, administration, combatant, logistics, and training commands within the Air Force. [2] : 140 [3]
The appointment, in principle, was constitutionally subjected for three years. However, in March 2024, the incumbent chief was controversially given a one year extension in his tenure. [4] In November 2024, the term length was increased to five years. [5] The Chief of the Air Staff is based at the Air Headquarters, and the current chief is Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar.
The Pakistan Air Force was created from the partition of the Royal Indian Air Force after the Partition of British India in August 1947, and were commanded by the appointments approved by the British Air Council. The position was then-known as the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force who would directly report to the Governor-General of Pakistan who was also under British monarchs. [6] : 238 At first, the office was held by the two-star rank air officer, an Air Vice Marshal, and later upgraded to a three-star rank, Air Marshal. The British Air Council continued making the appointment at the command level until 1957, when Pakistan had promoted a local air officer to the commanding position. [6] : 238
On 20 March 1972, the title of the office was changed from "Commander-in-Chief" to the "Chief of Air Staff" with Air Marshal Zafar Chaudhry being appointed as the first person to hold the latter title. [7] The Air Force had its first four-star rank officer, Air Chief Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan, in 1974. [8] The term of the superannuation was then constrained to three years in the office as opposed to four years and air chief was made a permanent member of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. [7] [3] Since 1974, there have been 14 four-star rank air force officers who have commanded the air force as its air chief. [7]
The Chief of the Air Staff is nominated and appointed by the Prime Minister whose appointment is then confirmed by the President. The air force leadership is based in the AHQ (PAF) in Islamabad, at the vicinity of the Navy Headquarters. [3]
The Chief of the Air Staff leads the functions of the AHQ, assisted by the civilians from the Air Force Secretariat-II of the Ministry of Defence (MoD). [1] The Chief of the Air Staff exercise its responsibility of complete operational, training and logistics commands. [3] In addition, the air chief has several staff officers:-
The following tables chronicle the appointees to the office of the Chief of the Air Staff or its preceding positions since the independence of Pakistan. [9]
(**Seconded from the Royal Air Force )
No. | Portrait | Commander-in-Chief | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Air Vice Marshal Allan Perry-Keene CB OBE (1898–1987) | 15 August 1947 | 17 February 1949 | 1 year, 186 days | |
2 | Air Vice Marshal Richard Atcherley CB CBE AFC (1904–1970) | 18 February 1949 | 6 May 1951 | 2 years, 77 days | |
3 | Air Vice Marshal Leslie William Cannon CB CBE (1904–1986) | 7 May 1951 | 19 June 1955 | 4 years, 43 days | |
4 | Air Vice Marshal Arthur McDonald CB AFC (1903–1996) | 20 June 1955 | 23 March 1956 | 277 days |
Pakistan became an Islamic republic on 23 March 1956, hence royal was dropped from the name of the air force.
No. | Portrait | Commander-in-Chief | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Air Vice Marshal Arthur McDonald CB AFC (1903–1996) | 23 March 1956 | 22 July 1957 | 1 year, 121 days | |
2 | Air Marshal Asghar Khan NT HPk HQA PM (GCCT) MA (1921–2018) | 23 July 1957 | 22 July 1965 | 7 years, 364 days | |
3 | Air Marshal Nur Khan HJ HS OI(J) ON NOC HQA SQA SPk SK (1923–2011) | 23 July 1965 | 31 August 1969 | 4 years, 40 days | |
4 | Air Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan HJ HQA SPk SK SBt KSJ (1925–1990) | 1 September 1969 | 2 March 1972 | 2 years, 183 days |
Rank insignia of the whole PAF was changed when ACM Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed was in the office.
No. | Portrait | Chief of Air Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Air Marshal Zafar Chaudhry SQA (1926–2019) | 3 March 1972 | 15 April 1974 | 2 years, 43 days | |
2 | Air Chief Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan NI(M) (1930–2005) | 16 April 1974 | 22 July 1978 | 4 years, 97 days | |
3 | Air Chief Marshal Anwar Shamim NI(M) SJ (1931–2013) | 23 July 1978 | 5 March 1985 | 6 years, 226 days | |
4 | Air Chief Marshal Jamal A. Khan NI(M) SJ SBt (born 1934) | 5 March 1985 | 8 March 1988 | 3 years, 3 days | |
5 | Air Chief Marshal Hakimullah Khan Durrani NI(M) SJ SBt (1935–2024) | 9 March 1988 | 9 March 1991 | 3 years | |
6 | Air Chief Marshal Farooq Feroze Khan NI(M) SBt (1939–2021) | 9 March 1991 | 8 November 1994 | 3 years, 244 days | |
7 | Air Chief Marshal Abbas Khattak NI(M) SBt (born 1943) | 8 November 1994 | 7 November 1997 | 2 years, 364 days | |
8 | Air Chief Marshal Pervaiz Mehdi Qureshi NI(M) SBt (born 1943) | 7 November 1997 | 20 November 2000 | 3 years, 13 days | |
9 | Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir NI(M) SBt (1947–2003) | 20 November 2000 | 20 February 2003 † | 2 years, 92 days | |
10 | Air Chief Marshal Kaleem Saadat NI(M) (born 1951) | 18 March 2003 | 18 March 2006 | 3 years, 0 days | |
11 | Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed NI(M) SBt (born 1952) | 18 March 2006 | 18 March 2009 | 3 years, 0 days | |
12 | Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman NI(M) HI(M) SI(M) TI(M) SBt (born 1954) | 19 March 2009 | 19 March 2012 | 3 years, 0 days | |
13 | Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt NI(M) TBt (born 1955) | 19 March 2012 | 19 March 2015 | 3 years, 0 days | |
14 | Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman NI(M) HI(M) SI(M) TI(M) (born 1959) | 19 March 2015 | 19 March 2018 | 3 years, 0 days | |
15 | Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan NI(M) HI(M) SI(M) TI(M) (born 1962) | 19 March 2018 | 19 March 2021 | 3 years, 0 days | |
16 | Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar NI(M) HI(M) SI(M) TI(M) (born 1965) | 19 March 2021 | Incumbent | 3 years, 292 days |
The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) is, in principle, the highest-ranking and senior most uniformed military officer, typically at four-star rank, in the Pakistan Armed Forces who serves as a principal staff officer (PSO) and a chief military adviser to the civilian government led by elected prime minister of Pakistan and the National Security Council. The role of advisement is also extended to the elected members in the bicameral parliament and the ministry of Defence. The chairman leads the meetings and coordinates the combined efforts of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), comprising the chairman, the chief of the Army Staff and chief of the Air Staff and the chief of the Naval Staff, commandant of marines, director general Coast Guards and Strategic Plans Division, and commanders of the service branches in the Civil Armed Forces and the National Guard.
Malik Nur Khan was a Pakistan Air Force officer, politician and statesman who served as sixth commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Air Force from 1965 to 1969. He later served as the sixth governor of West Pakistan from 1969 to 1970.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), ; is an administrative body of senior high-ranking uniformed military leaders of the unified Pakistan Armed Forces who advises the civilian government of Pakistan, National Security Council, Defence minister, president and prime minister of Pakistan on important military and non-military strategic matters. It is defined by statute, and consists of a chairman, the military chiefs from Army, Navy and the Air Force: all four-star officers appointed by the president, on the advice of the prime minister. The chairman is selected based on seniority and merit from the chiefs of service of the three branches of the Pakistan Armed and Defense Services. Each service chief, outside their Joint Chiefs of Staff obligations, performs their duty directly for the ministry of Defence.
Mushaf Ali MirNI(M), HI(M), SI(M), SBt was a Pakistani four-star air officer who served as the Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), appointed on 20 November 2000 until his accidental death in a plane crash on 20 February 2003.
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) is a statutory office held by the professional head of the Indian Air Force (IAF), the aerial branch of the Indian Armed Forces. Customarily held by a four-star air chief marshal, the CAS is the senior-most operational officer of the IAF, mandated with the responsibilities of supervising the force's overall functioning during states of peace and wartime, committing to the establishment-cum-continuity of air deterrence and executing India's security objectives vis-à-vis the preservation of the country's air sovereignty.
Mohammad Anwar ShamimNI(M) HI(M) SJ SI(M) OI LoM ; was the Chief of Air Staff, appointed to the post in 1978 until retiring in 1985.
Kaleem SaadatNI(M) HI(M) SI(M) TI(M) LoH is a retired four-star air officer in the Pakistan Air Force who served as the Chief of Air Staff from 18 March 2003 until retiring on 20 March 2006. His appointment came after an air crash that killed Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir, the air chief, along with several other high-ranking Air Force officers on 19 February 2003. He is the President of the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies.
Mohammad Abbas KhattakNI(M) HI(M) SI(M) SBt is a four-star rank air force general in the Pakistan Air Force who served as the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) from 8 November 1994 until 7 November 1997.
Zulfiqar Ali KhanNI(M), was the first four-star air officer in the Pakistan Air Force and later a diplomat. He was the Air Force's Chief of Air Staff from 15 April 1974 to 22 July 1978. Upon retirement, he served on a diplomatic assignment, and headed the diplomatic mission to the United States as Pakistan's ambassador from 1989 to 1990.
The Ministry of Defence, is an executive ministry of the federal Government of Pakistan, tasked in defending national interests and territorial integrity of Pakistan. The MoD oversees mission execution of its policies and supervises all agencies of the government directly related to the national security and the Pakistan Armed Forces.
Air Chief Marshal Parvaiz Mehdi QureshiNI(M) HI(M) SI(M) SBt best known as PQ Mehdi, is a retired four-star air officer and former fighter pilot who served as the eighth Chief of Air Staff (CAS) of the Pakistan Air Force from 1997 until his retirement in 2000.
The Chief of the Naval Staff is a military appointment and a Statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the Pakistan Navy, who is nominated and appointed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan and confirmed by the President of Pakistan.
Hakimullah Khan DurraniNI(M) HI(M) SJ SI(M) SBt TBt ; best known as Hakimullah, was a four-star air officer who tenured as the 5th Chief of Air Staff of Pakistan Air Force, appointed in this post from 9 March 1988 until retiring on 8 March 1991.
Jamal Ahmad Khan AfridiNI(M) HI(M) SJ SI(M) SBt is a retired four-star air officer who served as the Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force from 1985 until 1988. He also commanded the United Arab Emirates Air Force from 1977 until 1980.
PAF Air War College Institute is the Pakistan Air Forces academic establishment located at PAF Base Faisal providing training and education primarily to mid-career officers of the air force as well as a limited number of officers from Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Army and allied forces. The college was affiliated with University of Karachi from 1980 to 2005, Air University Pakistan from 2005 to 2007, since then affiliated with the National Defence University, Islamabad along with other staff and war colleges of the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy.
Tahir Rafique Butt, is a retired air officer who was the 13th Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force serving from 19 March 2012 to 19 March 2015. He was replaced by Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman.
Air Headquarters (AHQ) is the Headquarters of Pakistan Air Force, located in Islamabad. Initially it was established at Peshawar on 15 August 1947. Later it was moved to Karachi on 1 June 1948 and back to Peshawar in 1960. In 1983 construction of Air headquarters was started at Islamabad after it was decided to have all the armed forces headquarters in the capital city. On 1 August 2005 the headquarters was moved from Chaklala, Rawalpindi to Islamabad. During the construction of the headquarter's building at Islamabad the headquarters directorates were housed at PAF base Chaklala.
Air Marshal Ramaswamy Rajaram, DFC (1917–1969) was a senior officer in the Indian Air Force. He died in harness while serving as the Vice Chief of Air Staff (VCAS) of the Indian Air Force. He was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Air Command during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
Inamul Haque KhanHJ HI(M) SI(M) was a three-star air officer in the Pakistan Air Force who is known for his role as AOC of the Dacca airbase of the Pakistan Air Force.
Air chief marshal is a four-star commissioned air officer rank and title officially used to denote supreme commander in the Pakistan Air Force for command and control. It is bestowed and commissioned by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to a three-star air marshal officer, and while it is officially described as the highest rank in uniformed services of Pakistan, it is equivalent to the rank of admiral of navy and general of army. Since it is purposely designed to make a position advancement from three-star to a four-star rank, it ranks above the Air marshal and below Marshal of the air force, although "marshal of the air force" rank is currently not held by any military leader in Pakistan. However, a four-star air chief marshal falls under the Field marshal rank of army which is a distinct one from the air force's ranking system. The four-star air chief marshal helds the chief of air staff in the country once it is decorated with a five-star insignia.