ACM Zaheer Babar will be 9th PAF chief to serve for more than 3 years

LAHORE: After being granted a one-year extension in service by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Sunday, country’s incumbent Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu, is due to become the 9th highest-ranking officer of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) during the last 76 years to serve for more than three years, research shows.

The PAF has had about two dozen chiefs, both non-native and native, since the country’s inception.

Air Vice Marshal Leslie William Cannon (1904–1986) was the first Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force (as it was called between 1947 and 1956) to have served for four years and 43 days between May 7, 1951 and June 19, 1955.

Between 1956 and 1972, the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force was re-designated as Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Air Force after Pakistan became an Islamic republic in March 23, 1956.

The title “Royal” was dropped from the name of the air force.

During this period, Air Marshal Asghar Khan (1921-2018) served for seven years and 364 days, the highest tenure ever enjoyed by a Pakistan Air Force Chief. Asghar Khan called shots between July 23, 1957 and July 22, 1965.

Air Marshal Nur Khan (1923-2011) held this prestigious office for four years and 40 days between July 23, 1965 and August 31, 1969.

On March 20, 1972, the title of this office was changed from “Commander in Chief” to the “Chief of Air Staff” and Air Marshal Zafar Chaudhary (1926-2019) was appointed as the first person to hold this designation. Zafar served between March 3, 1972 and April 15, 1974 or for two years and 43 days.

Air Chief Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan 1930-2005) remained in this office for four years and 97 days between April 16, 1974 and July 22, 1978.

It is imperative to note that the Pakistan Air Force had its first four-star rank officer, an Air Chief Marshal, in 1974. The term of the superannuation was then curtailed to three years, as opposed to four years, and the Air Chief was made a permanent member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

Since 1974, there has been 14 four-star rank air force officers who have commanded the air force as its Air Chief.

Coming back to officers who served Pakistan Air Force for more than three years, Air Marshal Anwar Shamim Khan (1931-2013) enjoyed this post for six years and 226 days between July 23, 1978 and March 5, 1985.

Air Chief Marshal Jamal Khan (born: 1934) remained on this slot for three years and three days between March 5, 1985 and March 8, 1988.

Air Chief Marshal Farooq Feroze Khan (1939-2021) headed this institution for three years and 244 days between March 9, 1991 and November 8, 1994.

Air Chief Marshal Pervaiz Mehdi Qureshi (born: 1943) enjoyed this office for three years and 13 days between November 7, 1997 and November 20, 2000.

Other officers, all pilots, who headed the Air Force for three years or less were:

Air Vice Marshal Allan Perry-Keene (1898-1987) served for one year and 186 days between August 15, 1947 and February 17, 1949. He lived for 99 years, followed by Asghar Khan who died at 97.

Air Vice Marshal Richard Atcherley (1904-1970) served for two years and 77 days between February 18, 1949 and May 6, 1951.

Air Vice Marshal Arthur McDonald (1903-1996) served for 277 days only between June 20, 1955 and March 23, 1956.

After Pakistan became an Islamic republic on March 23, 1956, Arthur McDonald served for another year and 121 days between March 23, 1956 and July 22, 1957.

Air Marshal Rahim Khan (1925-1990) discharged his duties on this top position for two years and 183 days between September 1, 1969 and March 2, 1970.

Air Chief Marshal Hakimullah Khan Durrani (1935-2024) served for three years between March 9, 1988 and March 9, 1991.

Air Chief Marshal Abbas Khattak (born: 1934) remained in this office from November 8, 1994 and November 7, 1997 or for two years and 364 days.

Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Meer (1947-2003) served for two years and 92 days from November 20, 2000 to February 20, 2003.

Air Chief Marshal Kaleem Saadat (born: 1951) served for three years between March 18, 2003 and March 18, 2006.

Air Chief Marshal Tanveer Mehmood Ahmed (born: 1952) served for three years between March 18, 2006 and March 18, 2009.

Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman (born: 1954) also served for three years between March 19, 2009 and March 19, 2012.

Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt (born: 1955) also completed his stipulated three-year term between March 19, 2012 and March 19, 2015.

Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman (born: 1959) also vacated the office after serving for three years from March 19, 2015 to March 19, 2018.

Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan (born: 1962) discharged his professional obligations for three years between March 19, 2018 and March 19, 2021.