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Chief of the Air Staff (Pakistan)

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Chief of the Air Staff
رئیسِ عملۂ پاک فضائیہ
Air Force Ensign of Pakistan
since 19 March 2021
Ministry of Defence
(Air Force Secretariat-II at MoD)
 Pakistan Air Force[1]
AbbreviationCAS
Member ofJoint Chiefs of Staff Committee
National Security Council
Reports to Prime Minister of Pakistan
Minister of Defence
ResidenceAir Headquarters, Islamabad
SeatAir Headquarters
Nominator Prime Minister of Pakistan
Appointer President of Pakistan
Term length3 years
renewable only once
PrecursorCommander-in-Chief
FormationMarch 3, 1972; 52 years ago (1972-03-03)
First holderAir Marshal Zafar Chaudhry
SuccessionOn basis of seniority, subjected to the decision of the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Unofficial namesAir chief
DeputyVice Chief of the Air Staff
SalaryAccording to Pakistan Military officer's Pay Grade (apex Scale)
WebsiteOfficial website

The Chief of the Air Staff (Urdu: سربراہ پاک فضائيہ) (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 and final confirmation by the President of Pakistan.[2] The CAS is the highest-ranking officer of the Pakistan Air Force and only pilots are appointed in this post.

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 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.[3]: 40 [4]

The Chief of the Air Staff exercise its responsibility of command and control of the operational, administration, combatant, logistics, and training commands within the Air Force.[3]: 140  Due to its statute, the Chief of the Air Staff maintain its importance of providing the strategic control and final decision-making issues relating the nation's national security.[4]

The appointment, in principle, is constitutionally subjected for three years but extensions may be granted by the President upon recommendations and approvals from the Prime Minister. The Chief of the Air Staff is based at the Air Headquarters, and the current Chief of the Air Staff is the Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Baber.[2]

History

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The Pakistan Air Force was created from the partition of the Royal Indian Air Force after the partition of India in 1947, and were commanded by the appointments approved by the British Air Council. The position was then-known as the Commander in Chief who would directly report to the Governor-General who was also under British monarchs.[5]: 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.[5]: 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.[6] The Air Force had its first four-star rank officer, an Air Chief Marshal, in 1974.[7] 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.[6][4] Since 1974, there has been 14 four-star rank air force officers who have commanded the air force as its air chief.[6]

The Chief of the Air Staff is nominated and appointed by the Prime Minister whose appointment is then confirmed by the President.[2] The air force leadership is based in the AHQ in Islamabad, at the vicinity of the Navy Headquarters.[4]

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.[4] In addition, the Air chief has several staff officers:-

  • Vice Chief of Air Staff
    • Deputy Chief of the Air Staff Aerial Support (DCAS(S))
    • Deputy Chief of the Air Staff Training and Evaluation (DCAS (T&E))
    • Deputy Chief of the Air Staff Air Operations (DCAS AO)
    • Deputy Chief of the Air Staff Personnel (DCAS P)
    • Deputy Chief of the Air Staff Engineering (DCAS (E))
    • Director-General C4ISTAR (DG C4ISTAR)
    • Commander Air Force Strategic Command

Appointees

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For Commanders prior to 1947, see RAF India § Commanders.

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.[8]

(**Seconded from the Royal Air Force)

Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force (1947–55)

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The Royal Indian Air Force was divided between India and Pakistan following the partition of India, hence the Royal Pakistan Air Force was formed in 1947. It was then headed by a Commander-in-Chief.

No. Portrait Commander-in-Chief Took office Left office Time in office
1
Allan Perry-Keene CB, OBE
Perry-Keene, AllanAir Vice Marshal
Allan Perry-Keene CB, OBE
(1898–1987)		15 August 194717 February 19491 year, 186 days
2
Richard Atcherley CB, CBE, AFC
Atcherley, RichardAir Vice Marshal
Richard Atcherley CB, CBE, AFC
(1904–1970)		18 February 19496 May 19512 years, 77 days
3
Leslie William Cannon CB, CBE
Cannon, LeslieAir Vice Marshal
Leslie William Cannon CB, CBE
(1904–1986)		7 May 195119 June 19554 years, 43 days
4
Arthur McDonald CB, AFC
McDonald, ArthurAir Vice Marshal
Arthur McDonald CB, AFC
(1903–1996)		20 June 195523 March 1956277 days

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

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Pakistan became an Islamic republic in 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
Arthur McDonald CB, AFC
McDonald, ArthurAir Vice Marshal
Arthur McDonald CB, AFC
(1903–1996)		23 March 195622 July 19571 year, 121 days
2
Asghar Khan NT HPk HQA PM (GCCT) MA
Khan, AsgharAir Marshal
Asghar Khan
NT HPk HQA PM (GCCT) MA
(1921–2018)		23 July 195722 July 19657 years, 364 days
3
Nur Khan HJ HS OI(J) ON NOC HQA SQA SPk SK
Khan, NurAir Marshal
Nur Khan
HJ HS OI(J) ON NOC HQA SQA SPk SK
(1923–2011)		23 July 196531 August 19694 years, 40 days
4
Abdur Rahim Khan HJ HQA SPk SK SBt KSJ
Khan, AbdurAir 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)

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See also: Vice Chief of the Air Staff (Pakistan)

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
Zafar Chaudhry SQA
Chaudhry, ZafarAir Marshal
Zafar Chaudhry SQA
(1926–2019)		3 March 197215 April 19742 years, 43 days
2
Zulfiqar Ali Khan NI(M)
Khan, ZulfiqarAir Chief Marshal
Zulfiqar Ali Khan NI(M)
(1930–2005)		16 April 197422 July 19784 years, 97 days
3
Anwar Shamim NI(M), SJ
Shamim, AnwarAir Chief Marshal
Anwar Shamim NI(M), SJ
(1931–2013)		23 July 19785 March 19856 years, 226 days
4
Jamal A. Khan NI(M), SJ, SBt
Khan, JamalAir Chief Marshal
Jamal A. Khan NI(M), SJ, SBt
(born 1934)		5 March 19858 March 19883 years, 3 days
5
Hakimullah Khan Durrani NI(M), SJ, SBt
Durrani, HakimullahAir Chief Marshal
Hakimullah Khan Durrani NI(M), SJ, SBt
(1935–2024)		9 March 19889 March 19913 years
6
Farooq Feroze Khan NI(M), SBt
Khan, FarooqAir Chief Marshal
Farooq Feroze Khan NI(M), SBt
(1939–2021)		9 March 19918 November 19943 years, 244 days
7
Abbas Khattak NI(M), SBt
Khattak, AbbasAir Chief Marshal
Abbas Khattak NI(M), SBt
(born 1943)		8 November 19947 November 19972 years, 364 days
8
Pervaiz Mehdi Qureshi NI(M), SBt
Qureshi, PervaizAir Chief Marshal
Pervaiz Mehdi Qureshi NI(M), SBt
(born 1943)		7 November 199720 November 20003 years, 13 days
9
Mushaf Ali Mir NI(M), SBt
Mir, MushafAir Chief Marshal
Mushaf Ali Mir NI(M), SBt
(1947–2003)		20 November 200020 February 2003 †2 years, 92 days
10
Kaleem Saadat NI(M)
Saadat, KaleemAir Chief Marshal
Kaleem Saadat NI(M)
(born 1951)		18 March 200318 March 20063 years
11
Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed NI(M), SBt
Ahmed, TanvirAir Chief Marshal
Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed NI(M), SBt
(born 1952)		18 March 200618 March 20093 years
12
Rao Qamar Suleman NI(M), HI(M), SI(M), TI(M), SBt
Suleman, RaoAir Chief Marshal
Rao Qamar Suleman NI(M), HI(M), SI(M), TI(M), SBt
(born 1954)		19 March 200919 March 20123 years
13
Tahir Rafique Butt NI(M), TBt
Butt, TahirAir Chief Marshal
Tahir Rafique Butt NI(M), TBt
(born 1955)		19 March 201219 March 20153 years
14
Sohail Aman NI(M), HI(M), SI(M), TI(M)
Aman, SohailAir Chief Marshal
Sohail Aman NI(M), HI(M), SI(M), TI(M)
(born 1959)		19 March 201519 March 20183 years
15
Mujahid Anwar Khan NI(M), HI(M), SI(M), TI(M)
Khan, MujahidAir Chief Marshal
Mujahid Anwar Khan NI(M), HI(M), SI(M), TI(M)
(born 1962)		19 March 201819 March 20213 years
16
Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu NI(M), HI(M), SI(M), TI(M)
Babar, ZaheerAir Chief Marshal
Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu NI(M), HI(M), SI(M), TI(M)
(born 1965)		19 March 2021Incumbent3 years, 225 days

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c Mateen Haider; Irfan Haider (18 March 2015). "Air Marshal Sohail Aman appointed as new air chief". DAWN.COM. Dawn Newspaper, Islamabad. Dawn Newspapers. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b 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.
  4. ^ a b c d e Usman, Shabbir (2003). "Command & Structure control". pakdef.org. PakDef Military Consortium. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  5. ^ a b Cheema, Pervaiz I.; Riemer, Manuel (1990). Pakistan's Defence Policy 1947-58. Springer. ISBN 9781349209422. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  6. ^ a b c 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Chiefs of Air Staff". Bharat Rakshak. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
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