Name Farooq Khan | Allegiance Pakistan Relations Son of Feroze Khan | |
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President Ghulam Ishaq KhanFarooq Leghari Preceded by Hakeemullah Khan Durrani Born August 17, 1939 (age 84) Punjab British State, British Indian Empire ( 1939-08-17 ) Awards Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military)Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military)Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Military)Sitara-e-Basalat Battles and wars Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Soviet–Afghan War | ||
Farooq Feroze Khan, NI(M), SBt, (born 17 August 1939), is a retired four-star air officer (Air Chief Marshal) of the Pakistan Air Force who was the 13th Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) from 1991 to 1994. ACM Farooq Khan was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1994 to 1997, the only Air Force officer to be appointed to this designation till date.
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Air Force career
Farooq Feroze Khan joined the PAF after completing his Senior Cambridge from PAF Public School Sargodha where he belonged to 1st entry (69 – Fury House). He was selected for training at the USAF Academy and on return, was commissioned in the PAF on 4 January 1959 in the 27th GD(P) Course. He has flown all the aircraft in the PAF inventory and even the Hunters, which he flew while on attachment to Royal Air Force.
Command and staff appointments
A graduate of Flight Leaders School, F Khan commanded No. 9 Squadron, No. 33 Wing, and two fighter bases; PAF Base Sargodha and Masroor. He also has the distinction of commanding a Fighter Wing in the United Arab Emirates Air Force for three years.
Some of his staff appointments included Personal Staff Officer to the Chief of Air Staff, Assistant Commandant of PAF Air War College, Senior Air Staff Officer at the Southern Air Command, ACAS (Plans), DCAS (Operations) and Vice Chief of Air Staff. He was seconded to the Pakistan International Airlines as Chairman/MD before assuming command of the PAF in 1991.
Chief of Air Staff
Khan assumed the command of PAF at a difficult time. The Pressler Amendment had just been enforced and all the plans made for the restructuring of the Force had to be changed. He undertook the review and oversaw the induction of Australian Mirages, their upgrade, and the induction of F-7s. He also launched the search for a hi-tech weapon system in lieu of the F-16s that had been denied. he ensured the smooth amalgamation of the engineering branches, reorganized the Personnel Branch, and injected new life into the Inspectorate system by creating the post of Inspector General with wide ranging powers.
He was decorated with Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military), Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military), Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Military) and Sitara-e-Basalat. He was CAS for three years and eight months before becoming CJCSC for three years from 1994 to 1997.
Personal life
Zafar Khan, an olympian field hockey silver and gold medalist is the cousin of Farooq Feroze Khan. They are a descendant of the Burki Pathans of Jalandar and belongs to the Danishmand branch (khel). He is married to Farzana Khan and has three children. He resides in Islamabad.