The Chief of the Air Staff (

reporting name Reporting may refer to * any activity that leads to reports * in particular business reporting * Data reporting * Sustainability reporting * Financial reporting * international reporting of financial information for tax purposes under the OECD's ...

: CAS) is a military appointment and a statutory office held by an

Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

in the

Pakistan Air Force 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 re ...

, who is appointed by the

prime minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

with final confirmation by the

president of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

. 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 The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the Military, military forces of Pakistan. It is the List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel, world's sixth-largest military measured by Active duty, active military personnel and c ...

who is a senior member of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee 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, Defen ...

in a separate capacity, usually providing necessary consultation to the

Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee 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) an ...

to act as a principal

military adviser Military advisors or combat advisors are military personnel deployed to advise on military matters. The term is often used for soldiers sent to foreign countries to aid such countries' militaries with their military education and training, organi ...

to the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and its

civilian government Civil authority or civil government is the practical implementation of a state on behalf of its citizens, other than through military units (martial law), that enforces law and order and that is distinguished from religious authority (for exampl ...

in the line of defending and guarding the nation's airspace and aerial borders. 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. 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. In November 2024, the term length was increased to five years. 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

Royal Pakistan Air Force 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 requi ...

was established in August 1947, following the

Partition of British India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Pakistan is the Islam ...

. The Air Officer Commanding was a

two-star rank Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usuall ...

officer appointed by the British

Air Council Air Council (or Air Force Council) was the governing body of the Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed ...

and reported directly to the

governor-general of Pakistan The governor-general of Pakistan () was the Political representation, representative of the Monarchy of Pakistan, Pakistani monarch in the Dominion of Pakistan, established by the Indian Independence Act 1947. The office of governor-general was ...

, who represented the British monarch. On 30 March 1950, this position was re-designated as the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force. After the

1956 Constitution of Pakistan Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

was enacted, the country became a republic and the "Royal" title was dropped from all military branches. The British Air Council continued appointing chiefs until 1957, when the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

appointed Air Vice Marshal

Asghar Khan Mohammad Asghar Khan (17 January 1921 – 5 January 2018) known as ''Night Flyer,'' held the distinction of being the first native and second C-in-C of the PAF, Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) from 1957 to 1965. He has been d ...

, who became the first native head of the

. 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. The Air Force had its first four-star rank officer, Air Chief Marshal

Zulfiqar Ali Khan Zulfiqar Ali Khan (Urdu: ذوالفقار علی خان; 10 December 1930 – 8 March 2005) , 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 ...

, in 1974. The term of the

superannuation A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a "Defined benefit pension pla ...

was then constrained to three years in the office as opposed to four years and air chief was made a permanent member of

. Since 1974, there have been 14 four-star rank air force officers who have commanded the air force as its air chief. The Chief of the Air Staff is nominated and appointed by the

whose appointment is then confirmed by the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

. The air force leadership is based in the

AHQ (PAF) 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 o ...

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

, at the vicinity of the

Naval Headquarters Naval Headquarters (NHQ) is the name of the headquarters of many of the world's navies. These include: *Naval Headquarters (Pakistan) *Naval Headquarters (Sri Lanka) Naval Headquarters (NHQ) is the headquarters of the Sri Lanka Navy. Established ...

. 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 A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

(MoD). The Chief of the Air Staff exercise its responsibility of complete operational, training and logistics commands. In addition, the air chief has several staff officers:- * Vice Chief of the Air Staff ** Deputy Chiefs of the Air Staff ***Deputy Chief of The Air Staff (Operations) — DCAS(O) ***Deputy Chief of The Air Staff (Engineering) — DCAS(E) ***Deputy Chief of The Air Staff (Administration) — DCAS(A) ***Deputy Chief of The Air Staff (Training) — DCAS(T) ***Deputy Chief of The Air Staff (Personnel) — DCAS(P) ***Deputy Chief of The Air Staff (Support) — DCAS(S) ***Inspector General Air Force — IGAF ***Chief Project Director

JF-17 Thunder The CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder (), or FC-1 ''Xiaolong'' (), is a fourth-generation, lightweight, single-engine, multirole combat aircraft developed jointly by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China. ...

— CPD JF-17 Thunder ***Director General Air Force Strategic Command — DG AFSC ***Director General Air Intelligence — DG AI ***Director General Command, Control, Communication, Computers and Intelligence — DG C4ISTAR ***Director General Projects — DG Projects ***Director General Security — DG Security

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 The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation th ...

. (**''Seconded from the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

'')

Air Officer Commanding of the Royal Pakistan Air Force (1947–50)

Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force (1950-56)

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.

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.

References

Notes

External links

Official Website – Pakistan Air Force Chiefs of Air Staff GalleryPAF s' Chief of the Air Staffs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chief Off Air Staff (Pakistan) Chiefs of Air Staff, Pakistan Pakistan Air Force air marshals

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Pakistan Air Force appointments