Chief of the Air Staff (Pakistan)

Last updated

Chief of the Air Staff
رئیسِ عملۂ پاک فضائیہ
Air Force Ensign of Pakistan.svg
Air Force Ensign of Pakistan
AIR CHIEF MARSHAL ZAHEER AHMED BABER SIDHU.jpg
since 19 March 2021
State emblem of Pakistan.svg Ministry of Defence
(Air Force Secretariat-II at MoD)
Air Force Ensign of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Air Force [1]
AbbreviationCAS
Member of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
National Security Council
Reports to Flag of the Prime Minister of Pakistan.svg Prime Minister of Pakistan
State emblem of Pakistan.svg Minister of Defence
Residence Air Headquarters, Islamabad
Seat Air Headquarters
Nominator Flag of the Prime Minister of Pakistan.svg Prime Minister of Pakistan
Appointer Flag of the President of Pakistan.svg President of Pakistan
Term length 5 years
Renewable
Precursor Commander-in-Chief
Formation3 March 1972;52 years ago (1972-03-03)
First holder Air Marshal Zafar Chaudhry
Unofficial namesAir chief
Deputy Vice Chief of the Air Staff
SalaryAccording 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.

Contents

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.

History

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:-

Appointees

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 )

Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force (1947–56)

No.PortraitCommander-in-ChiefTook officeLeft officeTime in office
1
AVM A L A Perry Keene.png
Perry-Keene, Allan Air Vice Marshal
Allan Perry-Keene
CB OBE

(1898–1987)
15 August 194717 February 19491 year, 186 days
2
No image.png
Atcherley, Richard Air Vice Marshal
Richard Atcherley
CB CBE AFC

(1904–1970)
18 February 19496 May 19512 years, 77 days
3
No image.png
Cannon, Leslie Air Vice Marshal
Leslie William Cannon
CB CBE

(1904–1986)
7 May 195119 June 19554 years, 43 days
4
No image.png
McDonald, Arthur Air Vice Marshal
Arthur McDonald
CB AFC

(1903–1996)
20 June 195523 March 1956277 days

Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Air Force (1956–72)

Pakistan became an Islamic republic on 23 March 1956, hence royal was dropped from the name of the air force.

No.PortraitCommander-in-ChiefTook officeLeft officeTime in office
1
No image.png
McDonald, Arthur Air Vice Marshal
Arthur McDonald
CB AFC

(1903–1996)
23 March 195622 July 19571 year, 121 days
2
Air Marshal Asghar in Thailand (c. 1960).jpg
Khan, Asghar Air Marshal
Asghar Khan
NT HPk HQA PM (GCCT) MA

(1921–2018)
23 July 195722 July 19657 years, 364 days
3
Noor khan.jpg
Khan, Nur Air Marshal
Nur Khan
HJ HS OI(J) ON NOC HQA SQA SPk SK

(1923–2011)
23 July 196531 August 19694 years, 40 days
4
Air Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan.jpg
Khan, Abdur Air Marshal
Abdur Rahim Khan
HJ HQA SPk SK SBt KSJ

(1925–1990)
1 September 19692 March 19722 years, 183 days

Chiefs of Air Staff of Pakistan Air Force (1972–present)

Rank insignia of the whole PAF was changed when ACM Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed was in the office.

No.PortraitChief of Air StaffTook officeLeft officeTime in office
1
No image.png
Chaudhry, Zafar Air Marshal
Zafar Chaudhry
SQA

(1926–2019)
3 March 197215 April 19742 years, 43 days
2
No image.png
Khan, Zulfiqar Air Chief Marshal
Zulfiqar Ali Khan
NI(M)

(1930–2005)
16 April 197422 July 19784 years, 97 days
3
No image.png
Shamim, Anwar Air Chief Marshal
Anwar Shamim
NI(M) SJ

(1931–2013)
23 July 19785 March 19856 years, 226 days
4
No image.png
Khan, Jamal Air Chief Marshal
Jamal A. Khan
NI(M) SJ SBt

(born 1934)
5 March 19858 March 19883 years, 3 days
5
No image.png
Durrani, Hakimullah Air Chief Marshal
Hakimullah Khan Durrani
NI(M) SJ SBt

(1935–2024)
9 March 19889 March 19913 years
6
No image.png
Khan, Farooq Air Chief Marshal
Farooq Feroze Khan NI(M) SBt
(1939–2021)
9 March 19918 November 19943 years, 244 days
7
No image.png
Khattak, Abbas Air Chief Marshal
Abbas Khattak NI(M) SBt
(born 1943)
8 November 19947 November 19972 years, 364 days
8
Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi.jpg
Qureshi, Pervaiz Air Chief Marshal
Pervaiz Mehdi Qureshi
NI(M) SBt

(born 1943)
7 November 199720 November 20003 years, 13 days
9
No image.png
Mir, Mushaf Air Chief Marshal
Mushaf Ali Mir
NI(M) SBt

(1947–2003)
20 November 200020 February 2003 2 years, 92 days
10
No image.png
Saadat, Kaleem Air Chief Marshal
Kaleem Saadat
NI(M)

(born 1951)
18 March 200318 March 20063 years, 0 days
11
No image.png
Ahmed, Tanvir Air Chief Marshal
Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed
NI(M) SBt

(born 1952)
18 March 200618 March 20093 years, 0 days
12
No image.png
Suleman, Rao Air Chief Marshal
Rao Qamar Suleman
NI(M) HI(M) SI(M) TI(M) SBt

(born 1954)
19 March 200919 March 20123 years, 0 days
13
No image.png
Butt, Tahir Air Chief Marshal
Tahir Rafique Butt
NI(M) TBt

(born 1955)
19 March 201219 March 20153 years, 0 days
14
Sohail Aman.JPG
Aman, Sohail Air Chief Marshal
Sohail Aman
NI(M) HI(M) SI(M) TI(M)

(born 1959)
19 March 201519 March 20183 years, 0 days
15
Mujahid Anwar Khan.jpg
Khan, Mujahid Air Chief Marshal
Mujahid Anwar Khan
NI(M) HI(M) SI(M) TI(M)

(born 1962)
19 March 201819 March 20213 years, 0 days
16
AIR CHIEF MARSHAL ZAHEER AHMED BABER SIDHU.jpg
Babar, Zaheer Air Chief Marshal
Zaheer Ahmad Babar
NI(M) HI(M) SI(M) TI(M)

(born 1965)
19 March 2021Incumbent3 years, 292 days

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee</span> Highest principal staff officer of the Pakistan Armed Forces

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nur Khan</span> Pakistan Air Force C-in-C 1965-1969

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee</span> Administrative body of the Pakistan Armed Forces

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mushaf Ali Mir</span> Pakistani Air Chief Marshal(1947-2003)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief of the Air Staff (India)</span> Professional head of the Indian Air Force

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anwar Shamim</span> Air Chief Marshal (1931-2013)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zulfiqar Ali Khan</span> Pakistan Air Force officer (1930–2005)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Defence (Pakistan)</span> Ministry of the Government of Pakistan

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief of the Naval Staff (Pakistan)</span> Officer in the Pakistani Navy

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PAF Air War College</span> Military college in Karachi, Pakistan

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Headquarters (Pakistan)</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramaswamy Rajaram</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inamul Haque Khan</span> PAF officer and later Minister

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air chief marshal (Pakistan)</span> Highest rank in 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.

References

  1. 1 2 MoD, Ministry of Defence. "Organogram of MoD" (PDF). mod.gov.pk/. Ministry of Defence Press. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 Cheema, Pervaiz Iqbal (2002). "Defence Administration". The Armed Forces of Pakistan (google books) (1st ed.). New York, U.S.: NYU Press. p. 225. ISBN   9780814716335 . Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Usman, Shabbir (2003). "Command & Structure control". pakdef.org. PakDef Military Consortium. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  4. Ayesha Siddiqa (26 March 2024). "Myth Of Extension".
  5. Nausheen Yusuf; Waqar Satti (4 November 2024). "Parliament approves bill extending tenure of services chiefs up to 5 years". GEO News .
  6. 1 2 Cheema, Pervaiz I.; Riemer, Manuel (1990). Pakistan's Defence Policy 1947-58. Springer. ISBN   9781349209422 . Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 Alam, Dr Shah (2012). "Modernization under Bhutto" (googlebooks). Pakistan Army: Modernisation, Arms Procurement and Capacity Building. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN   9789381411797 . Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  8. Ramsey, Syed (2017). "Recovery from 1971 war" (google books). Pakistan and Islamic Militancy in South Asia. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN   9789386367433 . Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  9. "Chiefs of Air Staff". Bharat Rakshak. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2014.

Notes

  1. Urdu: سربراہ پاک فضائيہ