Former air chief and senior politician Asghar Khan has passed away, Geo TV quoted family sources as saying on Friday.
A spokesman for the Pakistan Air Force confirmed that the first Commander-in-chief of the PAF Asghar Khan has passed away.
Funeral prayers of Khan would be offered at the Pakistan Air Force base in Islamabad today while he would be laid to rest in a village in his hometown of Abbottabad .
According to Geo TV, Air Chief Sohail Aman expressed grief over his death and applauded his efforts to transform the PAF .
"COAS expresses his grief on sad demise of ex Air Chief, Air Marshal Asghar Khan, Retired. An iconic soldier who will be remembered for his historic contributions for laying foundations of a strong Pakistan Air Force. May Allah bless his soul-Amen," Director General ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor said in a tweet.
Asghar Khan joined politics after his retirement from the Air Force, playing a major role in opposition to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto from 1971 to 1977.
During the 1977 elections, Khan allied his party, the Tehreek-i-Istiqlal with the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) against the People's Party.
He contested two seats, one from Karachi and the other from Abbotabad, and was elected by a huge margin from both seats.
Asghar Khan resigned from both National Assembly seats as a mark of protest against what the political parties opposed to Bhutto called massive rigging in the elections.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI ) Chairman Imran Khan has expressed grief over the demise of Asghar Khan and lauded his services for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).
In 2011, Asghar Khan announced his full support to Imran Khan, praising him for his struggle and endorsing him as the only hope left for the survival of Pakistan.