The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when required, and a tertiary role of providing strategic airlift capability to Pakistan. As of 2021, as per the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the PAF has more than 70,000 active-duty personnel and operates at least 1370+ aircraft.PAF stands as the eight largest Air Force in the world. PAF is the largest Air Force of the Muslim world in terms of aircraft fleet. Its primary mandate and mission is "to provide, in synergy with other inter-services, the most efficient, assured and cost effective aerial defence of Pakistan." Since its establishment in 1947, the PAF has been involved in various combat operations, providing aerial support to the operations and relief efforts of the Pakistani military. Under Article 243, the Constitution of Pakistan appoints the President of Pakistan as the civilian Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), by statute a four-star air officer, is appointed by the President with the consultation and confirmation needed from the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali MirNI(M), HI(M), SI(M), SBt was an influential statesman and a four-star air force general 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.
PAF College Sargodha is a Pakistan Air Force operated boarding school located in Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established in 1953. Founded as a feeding school for Pakistan Air Force Academy, it is now a public school since 1990 funded by the Pakistan Air Force.
PAF Base Kohat is an airbase of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) located in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. While it currently serves as a training base for PAF airmen, the facility was also used as a major operational base of the Royal Air Force during British colonial rule.
Pakistan Air Force Base, M.M. Alam is a Pakistan Air Force airbase located at Mianwali, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The base is named after Muhammad Mahmood Alam. Earlier it was called PAF Base Mianwali, its name was changed in 2014.
Sitara-e-Jurat is the third highest military award of Pakistan. It was established in 1957 after Pakistan became a republic; however, it was instituted retrospectively back to 1947. It is awarded for gallantry or distinguished service in combat; and can be bestowed upon officers, junior commissioned officers, petty officers, warrant officers, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and equivalents in the Pakistan Army, Navy, Air Force, and various paramilitary forces under federal control, such as the Frontier Corps, the Frontier Constabulary, and the Pakistan Rangers. It may be considered to be roughly equivalent to the Military Cross and the Silver Star.
Tanvir Mahmood AhmedNI(M) HI(M) SI(M) SBt is a retired air chief of the Pakistan Air Force who was the Chief of the Air Staff from 2006 to 2009. He was succeeded by Rao Qamar Suleman on 18 March 2009.
Air Chief Marshal 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.
Rao Qamar SulemanNI(M) HI(M) SI(M) SBt TI(M) LoM was the 12th Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force. The four-star ranked general commanded the PAF from 2009 to 2012. Earlier, Suleman served as Deputy Chief of Air Staff of Operations. He was succeeded by Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt as Chief of Air Staff on 7 March 2012. He briefly served as the chairman of the Pakistan International Airlines in 2012.
Sargodha Cantonment is a cantonment adjacent to the Sargodha Airbase in Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan.
No. 9 Squadron, named the Griffins, is a Pakistan Air Force fighter squadron assigned to the No. 38 Multi-Role Wing of the PAF Central Air Command. The squadron is stationed at PAF Base Mushaf, Sargodha. It was the PAF's first fighter squadron and has been commanded by seven Chiefs of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force. The squadron crest is a red griffin which symbolises strength, aggressiveness, and vigilance. Scrolls around the squadron crest display the battle honours Sargodha 65 and Karachi 71.The Griffins are considered as the PAF's most elite unit as well as its most senior.
The No. 26 Squadron, nicknamed the Black Spiders, is a multi-role squadron of the Pakistan Air Force's Northern Air Command. It is currently based at Peshawar Airbase and operates the PAC JF-17 Thunder multirole fighter jets.
In 2007, 34 terrorist attacks and clashes, including suicide attacks, killings, and assassinations, resulted in 134 casualties and 245 injuries, according to the PIPS security report. The report states that Pakistan faced 20 suicide attacks during 2007, which killed at least 111, besides injuring another 234 people. The PIPS report shows visible increase in suicide attacks after the siege of Lal Masjid.
Air Commodore Imtiaz BhattiSJ SI(M) SBt in Gujrat, British India, is a cyclist and a former Air Force pilot of Pakistan. He was the Pakistan cycling champion during his student days at Punjab Agriculture College, Lyallpur in late 1940s and early 1950s. He set national cycling records and represented Pakistan in the individual and team road race events at the 1952 Summer Olympics where he was placed 1st among the Asian cyclists and 25th in the world in the 1000 m time trial. Bhatti a veteran of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 flew 34 combat missions, the maximum from Pakistan during the war and is credited with confirmed downing of two Indian planes and damaging a third, in addition to participating in raids that destroyed the Amritsar radar and various other air defence and ground support missions.
Air Chief Marshal Sohail AmanNI(M) HI(M) SI(M) TI(M) LoM is a retired four star air officer who served as the Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force. He took charge from Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt on 19 March 2015. He retired on 18 March 2018, on completion of the three-year term as Air Chief.
The Combat Commanders' School or CCS is the advanced air combat tactics development and training school of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) based at PAF Base Mushaf, Sargodha, Pakistan.
The PAF Airpower Centre of Excellence or PAF ACE is an airpower and air warfare research, planning, and development facility of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) based at PAF Base Mushaf, Sargodha, Pakistan.
The Central Air Command or CAC is one of the five operational commands of the Pakistan Air Force and is headquartered at PAF Base Mushaf in Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan.
Air commodore Raja Rizwan Ullah KhanMRAeSM-PECSbt was a one-star rank officer in the Pakistan Air Force, author, and aeronautical engineer who held the position of Personal Staff Officer to Chief of Air Staff Mushaf Ali Mir. In the TV series Shahpar, he played the role of the Officer Commanding No. 11 Squadron PAF, mirroring his real-life position at the time.
Air Vice Marshal Abdul Razzaq Anjum SI(M) TI(M) Sbt was a two star rank officer in the Pakistan Air Force who held the position of Deputy Chief of the Air Staff -. He died in an air crash, along with fellow F-16 fighter pilot Air Cdre Rizwan Ullah Khan, Chief of Air Staff Mushaf Ali Mir, his wife Begum Bilquis Mir, AVM Saleem Akhtar Nawaz, and 13 other senior air force officials and aircrew. Had he lived, he would've been considered for the position of Chief of Air Staff. Abdul Razzaq was known for setting a new record by getting the highest marks in the Intermediate exams and in the Science/Humanities Groups from the Sargodha board. He scored 884 marks and won a Gold Medal from the Board in 1970 with this record remaining unbroken for 27 years.
Hassan Faisal
