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Chief of the Air Staff (Pakistan)
The Chief of the Air Staff[a] (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 with final confirmation by the President of Pakistan. 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 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 of Staff Committee 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.[2]: 40 [3] 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.[2]: 140 [3] 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 the Air Headquarters, and the current chief is Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar. HistoryThe Pakistan Air Force was created from the partition of the Royal Indian Air Force after the Partition of British India in August 1947, and were commanded by the appointments approved by the British Air Council. The position was then-known as the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force who would directly report to the Governor-General of Pakistan who was also under British monarchs.[6]: 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.[6]: 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.[7] The Air Force had its first four-star rank officer, Air Chief Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan, in 1974.[8] 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.[7][3] Since 1974, there have been 14 four-star rank air force officers who have commanded the air force as its air chief.[7] The Chief of the Air Staff is nominated and appointed by the Prime Minister whose appointment is then confirmed by the President. The air force leadership is based in the AHQ (PAF) in Islamabad, at the vicinity of the Navy 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 the Ministry 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:-[9]
AppointeesThe following tables chronicle the appointees to the office of the Chief of the Air Staff or its preceding positions since the independence of Pakistan.[10] (**Seconded from the Royal Air Force) Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force (1947–56)
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.
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NotesExternal links
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