| Chief of the Air Staff | |
|---|---|
| رئیسِ عملۂ پاک فضائیہ | |
 Air Force Ensign of Pakistan | |
 | |
 Ministry of Defence(Air Force Secretariat-II atMoD)  Pakistan Air Force[1] | |
| Abbreviation | CAS |
| Member of | Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee National Security Council |
| Reports to |  Prime Minister of PakistanMinister of Defence |
| Seat | Air Headquarters |
| Nominator | Prime Minister of Pakistan |
| Appointer |  President of Pakistan |
| Term length | 5 years Renewable |
| Precursor | Commander-in-Chief |
| Formation | 3 March 1972; 53 years ago (1972-03-03) |
| First holder | Air MarshalZafar Chaudhry |
| Unofficial names | Air chief |
| Deputy | Vice Chief of the Air Staff |
| Salary | According to Pakistan Military officer's Pay Grade (apex Scale) |
| Website | Official Website |
TheChief of the Air Staff[a] (reporting name: CAS) is a seniorPakistani military appointment and astatutory office held by anAir Chief Marshal in thePakistan Air Force, who is appointed by theprime minister of Pakistan with final confirmation by thepresident of Pakistan. The CAS is the highest-ranking officer of the air force.
Until 2025, the Chief of the Air Staff was also a senior member of theJoint Chiefs of Staff Committee in a separate capacity and usually provided necessary consultation to the erstwhileChairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee to act as a principalmilitary adviser to theprime minister and itscivilian government in the line of defending and guarding the nation'sairspace and aerial borders.[2]: 40 [3]
The Chief of the Air Staff exercises his responsibility ofcommand and control of the operational, administration, combatant, logistics, and training commands within the Air Force.[2]: 140 [3]
Since 1985, 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.[4] In November 2024, the term length was increased to five years.[5] The Chief of the Air Staff is based at theAir Headquarters, and the current chief is Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar.
TheRoyal Pakistan Air Force was established in August 1947, following thePartition of British India. The Air Officer Commanding was atwo-star rank officer appointed by the BritishAir Council and reported directly to thegovernor-general of Pakistan.[6]: 238 On 30 March 1950, this position was re-designated as the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force.[7] After the1956 Constitution of Pakistan 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 theGovernment of Pakistan appointed Air Vice MarshalAsghar Khan, who became the first native head of thePakistan Air Force.[8]
On 20 March 1972, the title of the office was changed from "Commander-in-Chief" to the "Chief of Air Staff" with Air MarshalZafar Chaudhry being appointed as the first officer to hold the latter title.[9] The Air Force had its first four-star rank officer, Air Chief MarshalZulfiqar Ali Khan, in 1974.[10] The term of thesuperannuation was then constrained to three years in the office as opposed to four years and air chief was made a permanent member ofJoint Chiefs of Staff Committee.[9][3] Since 1974, all air chiefs have been four-star rank air force officers.[9]
The Chief of the Air Staff is nominated and appointed by theprime minister whose appointment is then confirmed by thepresident. The air force leadership is based in theAHQ (PAF) inIslamabad, at the vicinity of theNaval Headquarters.[3]
The Chief of the Air Staff leads the functions of the AHQ, assisted by the civilians from the Air Force Secretariat-II of theMinistry of Defence (MoD).[1] The Chief of the Air Staff exercise its responsibility of complete operational, training and logistics commands.[3] In addition, the air chief has several staff officers:-[11]
The following tables chronicle the appointees to the office of the Chief of the Air Staff or its preceding positions since theindependence of Pakistan.[12]
(**Seconded from theRoyal Air Force)
| No. | Portrait | Air Officer Commanding | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Perry-Keene, AllanAir Vice Marshal Allan Perry-Keene CB OBE (1898–1987) | 15 August 1947 | 17 February 1949 | 1 year, 186 days |
| 2 |  | Atcherley, RichardAir Vice Marshal Richard Atcherley CB CBE AFC (1904–1970) | 18 February 1949 | 30 March 1950 | 1 year, 40 days |
| No. | Portrait | Commander-in-Chief | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Atcherley, RichardAir Vice Marshal Richard Atcherley CB CBE AFC (1904–1970) | 31 March 1950 | 6 May 1951 | 1 year, 36 days |
| 2 |  | Cannon, LeslieAir Vice Marshal Leslie William Cannon CB CBE (1904–1986) | 7 May 1951 | 19 June 1955 | 4 years, 43 days |
| 3 | | McDonald, ArthurAir Vice Marshal Arthur McDonald CB AFC (1903–1996) | 20 June 1955 | 23 March 1956 | 277 days |
Pakistan became an Islamic republic on 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 | | McDonald, ArthurAir Vice Marshal Arthur McDonald CB AFC (1903–1996) | 23 March 1956 | 22 July 1957 | 1 year, 121 days |
| 2 | .jpg) | Khan, AsgharAir Marshal Asghar Khan HPkHQA (1921–2018) | 23 July 1957 | 22 July 1965 | 7 years, 364 days |
| 3 |  | Khan, NurAir Marshal Nur Khan HJSPkHQA (1923–2011) | 23 July 1965 | 31 August 1969 | 4 years, 40 days |
| 4 |  | Khan, AbdurAir Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan HJHQASPkSKSBtKSJ (1925–1990) | 1 September 1969 | 2 March 1972 | 2 years, 183 days |
Rank insignia of the whole PAF was changed whenACM Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed was in the office.
| No. | Portrait | Chief of Air Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Chaudhry, ZafarAir Marshal Zafar Chaudhry SQA (1926–2019) | 3 March 1972 | 15 April 1974 | 2 years, 43 days |
| 2 |  | Khan, ZulfiqarAir Chief Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan NI(M) (1930–2005) | 16 April 1974 | 22 July 1978 | 4 years, 97 days |
| 3 |  | Shamim, AnwarAir Chief Marshal Anwar Shamim NI(M) SJ (1931–2013) | 23 July 1978 | 5 March 1985 | 6 years, 225 days |
| 4 | | Khan, JamalAir Chief Marshal Jamal A. Khan NI(M) SJ SBt (born 1934) | 6 March 1985 | 8 March 1988 | 3 years, 2 days |
| 5 | | Durrani, HakimullahAir Chief Marshal Hakimullah Khan Durrani NI(M) SJ SBt (1935–2024) | 9 March 1988 | 9 March 1991 | 3 years |
| 6 | | Khan, FarooqAir Chief Marshal Farooq Feroze KhanNI(M) SBt (1939–2021) | 9 March 1991 | 8 November 1994 | 3 years, 244 days |
| 7 | | Khattak, AbbasAir Chief Marshal Abbas KhattakNI(M) SBt (born 1943) | 8 November 1994 | 7 November 1997 | 2 years, 364 days |
| 8 |  | Qureshi, PervaizAir Chief Marshal Pervaiz Mehdi Qureshi NI(M) SBt (born 1943) | 7 November 1997 | 20 November 2000 | 3 years, 13 days |
| 9 |  | Mir, MushafAir Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir NI(M) SBt (1947–2003) | 20 November 2000 | 20 February 2003 † | 2 years, 92 days |
| – | | Hussain Qaiser, SyedAir Marshal Syed Qaiser Hussain Acting | 20 February 2003[13] | 18 March 2003 | 26 days |
| 10 | | Saadat, KaleemAir Chief Marshal Kaleem Saadat NI(M) (born 1951) | 19 March 2003[14] | 18 March 2006 | 2 years, 364 days |
| 11 | | Ahmed, TanvirAir Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed NI(M) SBt (born 1952) | 18 March 2006 | 18 March 2009 | 3 years, 0 days |
| 12 | | Suleman, RaoAir Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman NI(M) HI(M) SI(M) TI(M) SBt (born 1954) | 19 March 2009 | 19 March 2012 | 3 years, 0 days |
| 13 | | Butt, TahirAir Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt NI(M) TBt (born 1955) | 19 March 2012 | 19 March 2015 | 3 years, 0 days |
| 14 |  | Aman, SohailAir Chief Marshal Sohail Aman NI(M) HI(M) SI(M) TI(M) (born 1959) | 19 March 2015 | 19 March 2018 | 3 years, 0 days |
| 15 |  | Khan, MujahidAir Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan NI(M) HI(M) SI(M) TI(M) (born 1962) | 19 March 2018 | 19 March 2021 | 3 years, 0 days |
| 16 | | Babar, ZaheerAir Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar NI(M) HI(M) SI(M) TI(M) (born 1965) | 19 March 2021 | Incumbent | 4 years, 334 days |
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