Vice Chief of the Air Staff (Pakistan)

Vice Chief of the Air Staff
وائس چیف آف ایئر سٹاف
Incumbent Hamid Rashid Randhawa
Pakistan Air Force
Type	Second-in-command of Pakistan Air Force
Abbreviation	C.O.S. (1949-1964; 1970-1972) DCAS (1964-1970; 1972-1979) VCAS (1979-present)
Reports to	Commander-in-Chief (1947-1972) Chief of the Air Staff (since 1972)
Seat	Air Headquarters, Islamabad
Deputy	Deputy Chief of the Air Staff

The Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) is the second-in-command of the Pakistan Air Force and reports to the Chief of the Air Staff. ^{[1] [2]} Since 1979, it has been held by an Air Marshal, a three-star rank air force officer, ^[3] who is responsible for flight safety, intelligence, procurement, public relations, and the PAF Air War College. ^[2]

History

Traditionally, the deputy has served as the air chief's principal assistant, overseeing the routine administration of Air Force operations. While there are limitations on the authority of the Deputy with respect to the development of policies, the Deputy handles many of the substantial administrative tasks with which air chiefs are encumbered. This allows the air chief to focus on the larger and more numerous areas of responsibility. ^[3]

According to Rule 31-A of the Pakistan Air Force Act Rules, 1957: "Authorities empowered to order dismissal or removal of persons other than officers and warrant officers:- The (Vice Chief of Air Staff), Pakistan Air Force, may at any time dismiss or remove from the service any person subject to this Act other than an officer or warrant officer." ^[4]

Over the years, the title used to refer to the second-in-command of the PAF has changed from chief of staff ^[a] to deputy chief of air staff, ^[b] and since 1979 as vice chief of air staff. Similarly, the rank of the deputy also increased from air commodore to air vice-marshal, and ultimately air-marshal. Throughout the first 40 years of the PAF, 19 individuals had served as vice chiefs; however, Air Marshal Farooq Feroze Khan was the first to succeed an outgoing chief of air staff. ^[3]

List of Chiefs

Name	Appointment date	Left office	Position title	Served under	References
Douglas Lloyd Amlot	April 1949	May 1951	Chief of Staff (C.O.S.)	Richard Atcherley	[5]
GB Keily	May 1951	September 1952	Chief of Staff (C.O.S.)	Leslie William Cannon	[3]
LE Jarman	September 1952	December 1954	Chief of Staff (C.O.S.)	Leslie William Cannon	[3]
Haider Raza	20 December 1954	20 June 1957	Chief of Staff (C.O.S.)	Leslie William Cannon Arthur McDonald	[6]
Maqbool Rabb	21 June 1957	24 March 1959	Chief of Staff (C.O.S.)	Arthur McDonald Asghar Khan	[6]
M. A. Rahman	29 March 1959	25 November 1964	Chief of Staff (C.O.S.)	Asghar Khan	[6]
Mohammad Akhtar	26 November 1964	8 April 1966	Deputy Chief of Air Staff (DCAS)	Asghar Khan Nur Khan	[6]
Stephen Aratoon Yusaf	9 April 1966	18 April 1967	Deputy Chief of Air Staff (DCAS)	Nur Khan	[6]
Abdul Qadir	19 April 1967	13 January 1969	Deputy Chief of Air Staff (DCAS)	Nur Khan Abdur Rahim Khan	[6]
Khyber Khan	1 February 1969	19 March 1970	Deputy Chief of Air Staff (DCAS)	Abdur Rahim Khan	[6]
Stephen Aratoon Yusaf	1 May 1969	28 February 1970	Chief of Staff (C.O.S.) (served concurrently with DCAS)	Abdur Rahim Khan	[6]
Eric G. Hall	1 April 1970	3 June 1972	Chief of Staff (C.O.S.)	Abdur Rahim Khan Zafar Chaudhry	[6]
Saeedullah Khan	22 June 1972	29 June 1973	Deputy Chief of Air Staff (DCAS)	Zafar Chaudhry	[6]
Chaudhary Rab Nawaz	21 July 1973	12 May 1974	Deputy Chief of Air Staff (DCAS)	Zafar Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali Khan	[6]
Michael John O'Brian	13 May 1974	31 August 1975	Deputy Chief of Air Staff (DCAS)	Zulfiqar Ali Khan	[6]
M. Mahmood Hasan	1 September 1975	22 July 1978	Deputy Chief of Air Staff (DCAS)	Zulfiqar Ali Khan	[6]
Ayaz Ahmed Khan	10 August 1979	21 July 1981	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Anwar Shamim	[6]
A Rashid Shaikh	22 July 1981	April 1984	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Anwar Shamim	[6]
Jamal A. Khan	April 1984	March 1985	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Anwar Shamim	[6]
Shabbir Hussain Syed	March 1985	March 1988	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Jamal A. Khan	[6]
Farooq Feroze Khan	March 1988	December 1989	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Hakimullah Khan Durrani	[6]
Syed Masood Hatif	February 1990	July 1993	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Hakimullah Khan Durrani Farooq Feroze Khan	[6]
Shafique Haider	July 1993	November 1994	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Farooq Feroze Khan	[7]
Muhammad Arshad Chaudhry	December 1994	January 1997	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Abbas Khattak	[6]
Pervaiz Mehdi Qureshi	May 1997	November 1997	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Abbas Khattak	[7]
Aliuddin	December 1997	November 1999	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Pervaiz Mehdi Qureshi	[7]
Salim Arshad	?	22 November 2002	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Mushaf Ali Mir	[8]
Syed Qaiser Hussain	23 November 2002	?	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Mushaf Ali Mir	[8] [9]
Raashid Kalim	30 March 2006	15 November 2007	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed	[10]
Shahid Lateef	16 November 2007	28 March 2009	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed	[11]
Hifazat Ullah Khan	29 March 2009	4 October 2010	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Rao Qamar Suleman
Tahir Rafique Butt	5 October 2010	18 March 2012	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Rao Qamar Suleman
Farhat Hussain Khan	9 June 2012	3 July 2013	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Tahir Rafique Butt	[12]
Syed Athar Hussain Bukhari	4 July 2013	6 August 2014	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Tahir Rafique Butt	[13]
Sohail Gul	7 August 2014	10 April 2015	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Tahir Rafique Butt Sohail Aman	[14]
Saeed Muhammad Khan	11 April 2015	2 July 2016	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Sohail Aman	[15]
Asad Abdur Rehman Lodhi	3 July 2016	5 October 2017	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Sohail Aman	[16]
Farooq Habib	6 October 2017	25 March 2018	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Sohail Aman Mujahid Anwar Khan	[17]
Arshad Malik	26 March 2018	3 November 2018	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Mujahid Anwar Khan	[18]
Aasim Zaheer	4 November 2018	17 January 2020	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Mujahid Anwar Khan
Ahmer Shehzad Leghari	18 January 2020	25 March 2021	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Mujahid Anwar Khan Zaheer Ahmad Babar	[19]
Syed Noman Ali	26 March 2021	20 March 2022	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Zaheer Ahmad Babar	[20]
Zahid Mehmood	21 March 2022	2024	Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Zaheer Ahmad Babar	[21]
Hamid Rashid Randhawa	2024		Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)	Zaheer Ahmad Babar	[22]

See also

• Vice Chief of the Army Staff (Pakistan)
• Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (Pakistan)

Notes

1. From 1948 to 1964, and in 1969 when Stephen Aratoon Yusaf served as Chief of Staff from 1969 to 1970 alongside DCAS Khyber Khan. ^[3]
2. From 1964 to 1979

References

1. "PAF Structure – Principal Staff Officers". Pakistan Air Force . Retrieved 29 December 2022.
2. Khan, H. "Command & Structure". PakDef Military Consortium. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
3. The Story Of The Pakistan Air Force: A Saga Of Courage And Honour. Shaheen Foundation. 1988. p. 660. The deputy has traditionally been the chief's right hand man in the day to day supervision of air force activity. While understandably restricted in his powers of policy making, the deputy relieves the chief of some onerous chores, enabling the latter to apply himself with greater effectiveness to the more important of his multifarious responsibilities. In addition, the deputy officiates as the chief of the PAF whenever the incumbent is away from Pakistan or on leave. Over the years, the designation of the right hand man has ranged from chief of staff to deputy chief of staff to deputy chief of air staff to the present vice chief of air staff. At the same time, commen-surate with the elevation of the air chief himself, the deputy's rank has risen from air commodore through air vice marshal to air marshal. It is of interest to note that, of the 19 deputies spanning the PAF's four decades, only one succeeded an outgoing air chief.
4. "Pakistan Air Force Rules, 1957, (Rr. 31-A, 31-B & 3) 2020 PLD 137 PESHAWAR-HIGH-COURT (Writ Petition No. 2593-P of 2017, decided on 1st November, 2018*.)". www.pakistanlawyer.com. 2018.
5. AMLOT TO OFFICIATE FOR ATCHERLEY New RPAF Commander's Impressive Record. The Civil and Military Gazette of Lahore. 11 November 1949.
6. History of the Pakistan Air Force, 1947-1982, Pakistan Air Force, 1982 (p. 222)
7. Shaikh, A. Rashid (2000). The Story of Pakistan Air Force: A Battle Against Odds, 1988-1998. Shaheen Foundation. p. 370.
8. "ISLAMABAD: New CAA chief named". Dawn . 10 November 2002.
9. "Qaiser acting Air Chief". Dawn . 21 February 2003.
10. "Raashid new vice chief of air staff". Dawn . 31 March 2006.
11. "Shahid Lateef made Vice Chief of Air Staff". Brecorder . 16 November 2007.
12. "Air Marshal Farhat Hussain Khan Appointed as Vice chief of Air Staff" (PDF). Pakistan Air Force. 9 June 2012.
13. "AIR MARSHAL SYED ATHAR HUSSAIN BUKHARI APPOINTED VICE CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF, PAKISTAN AIR FORCE" (PDF). Pakistan Air Force. 4 July 2023.
14. "Sohail Gul appointed Vice Chief of Air Staff". Dawn . 8 August 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
15. "Saeed appointed Vice Chief of Air Staff". The Nation . 11 April 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
16. "Saeed appointed Vice Chief of Air Staff". The News International . 4 July 2016.
17. "Air Marshal Farooq Habib appointed as Vice Chief of the Air Staff". The News International. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
18. "Arshad Malik named vice chief of air staff". Dawn . 27 March 2018.
19. "Aasim Zaheer named Vice Chief of Air Staff". Dawn . 4 November 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
20. "Government of Pakistan has appointed Air Marshal Syed. Noman Ali" (PDF). 26 March 2021.
21. "Air Marshal Zahid becomes Vice Chief of Air Staff". The News International . 22 March 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
22. Russian Embassy, Pakistan (22 February 2024). "Hamid Rashid Randhawa calls on Russian Embassy".