Wikipedia

Zulfiqar Ali Khan

Zulfiqar Ali Khan[a] (10 December 1930 – 8 March 2005) was the second Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force, serving from April 1974 to July 1978, and became the first air officer to hold a four-star rank in 1976. He was also the first graduate of the PAF Academy to have reached the position. He later served as Pakistan's Ambassador to Switzerland (accredited to Albania and Vatican City) in 1980[3] and the United States from July 1989 to September 1990.

Air Chief Marshal
Zulfiqar Ali Khan
SK LOM
ذوالفقارعلی خان
2nd Chief of Air Staff
Pakistan Air Force
In office
16 April 1974 – 22 July 1978
Preceded byZafar Chaudhry
Succeeded byAnwar Shamim
Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
In office
12 July 1989 – 15 September 1990
Preceded byJamsheed Marker
Succeeded byNajmuddin Shaikh
Officer Commanding
No. 11 Squadron PAF
In office
August 1958 – 5 March 1963
Succeeded byAnwar Shamim
Officer Commanding
No. 20 Squadron PAF
In office
28 March 1956 – 7 July 1957
Personal details
Born10 December 1930
Lahore, Punjab, British India
Died8 March 2005(2005-03-08) (aged 74)
Islamabad, Pakistan
Cause of deathCardiac arrest
Resting placeH-8 Graveyard, Islamabad
Spouse
Sajida Haq Nawaz Khan
​
​
(m. 1965; died 2012)​
Children3
RelativesMohammad Akbar Khan (cousin)[1]
Brigadier Agha Ali Hassan (nephew)[2]
Brigadier Muhammad Azam Agha (nephew)
EducationMilitary College Jhelum
RPAF College
Flying Instructors School
PAF Staff College
Military service
Branch/service Pakistan Air Force
Years of service
1950–1978
Rank Air Chief Marshal
CommandsPAF Academy
PAF Base Dacca
PAF Camp Badaber
PAF Base Sargodha
No. 9 Squadron PAF
No. 11 Squadron PAF
AwardsSee list

Early life

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Zulfiqar Ali Khan was born in Lahore into a Punjabi Arain family on 10 December 1930,[4] to Agha Shujaat Ali Khan and his wife Anjum.[5]

He was an alumni of the Military College Jhelum.[6]

Personal life

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Zulfiqar married Sajida Haq Nawaz Khan in 1965. They had three children, two sons and one daughter.[5] Sajida died in 2012 and her funeral was attended by surviving former Chiefs of Air Staff, politicians, and others.[7]

Career in the Air Force

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Zulfiqar Ali Khan was commissioned into the Royal Pakistan Air Force from the RPAF College as a GD (P) pilot on 21 December 1950.[4] On 28 March 1956, Flight Lieutenant Khan was selected to command the newly raised No. 20 Sqn.[8] He also attended the PAF Staff College.[5]

Squadron Leader Zulfiqar Ali Khan was appointed Officer Commanding No. 9 Sqn in October 1957 and No. 11 Sqn in September 1958.[9] Wing Commander Khan briefly served as air attaché at the High Commission of Pakistan, New Delhi from 1965[10] to 1966.[11]

He was appointed Commander No. 31 Wing PAF in January 1967. Promoted to Group Captain, he was appointed Commander PAF Base Dacca in April 1967.[9] He also commanded PAF Camp Badaber from 1971 to 1972.[5]

Air Commodore Khan was appointed Commander PAF Base Sargodha in May 1972 and Commandant of PAF Academy in February 1973.[9]

In 1974, he was promoted to Air Vice Marshal and appointed Director Operations and Plans and then Chief of Air Staff Operations.[5]

Chief of Air Staff (1974—1978)

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Major General Thomas P. Stafford, Group Captain Sajad Haider, and Air Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan at Edwards AFB, 1974-75

On 15 April 1974, Air Vice Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan was appointed as the second Chief of Air Staff.[12] He was promoted to the rank of Air Marshal on 6 September 1974.[13]

In 1975, he helped established the Northern Air Command, based in PAF Base Kalabagh, oversaw the induction of the MiG-15 as a jet trainer, establishment[clarification needed] of the Air Defence Command, and provided his support to rebuilding Mirage III aircraft at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.

On 1 January 1976, Khan was promoted to air chief marshal (ACM), becoming the first four-star rank officer of the Pakistan Air Force.[14][12]

During this same time, ACM Zulfiqar Ali Khan chose Group Captains Hakimullah Khan Durrani and Cecil Chaudhry to establish the Combat Commanders' School.[15]

Over the issue of its clandestine atomic bomb programme, the United States offered Pakistan 120 modern A-7 jets to give up its reprocessing plant. ACM Zulfiqar Ali Khan advised Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto that the "atomic bomb programme should not for any reason be compromised."[2]

In May 1976, Air Chief Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan was among the military officials who accompanied Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on his state visit to Pyongyang, North Korea.[16]

On 5 July 1977, General Zia-ul-Haq carried out his military coup d'état against the civilian government of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and appointed a four member Military Council to assist him. The council comprised Zulfiqar Ali Khan, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff General Muhammad Shariff, Admiral Mohammad Shariff, and General Zia himself.[17]

On 22 July 1978, ACM Zulfiqar Ali Khan tendered his resignation from the command of the air force over the disagreement with the military take over of the civilian government, and handed over the command to Anwar Shamim.[18]

Diplomatic career

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Zulfiqar Ali Khan joined the Foreign Service and was appointed Pakistan's ambassador to Switzerland, serving from 26 January 1979 to 1981.[19]

He was appointed as Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States in July 1989.[20]: 978  In 1990, he was recalled to Pakistan after serving as ambassador for only a year.

Later life

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In 1989, he was appointed as chief investigator to lead investigations on possible military funding to political parties by the intelligence community.[21][22]

In 1989, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto set up a committee under (Retd) Air Chief Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan to revamp the intelligence agencies. The committee, known as The Zulfiqar Committee, recommended that the National Security Council be set up under the prime minister.[23] The committee also recommended that the Afghan cell within the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) be abolished.[24]

In April 2003, Khan was among the Veterans of Pakistan (VOP) who were concerned with the situation of the country and had sought to meet with General Musharraf to express their concerns.[25]

Death

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On 8 March 2005, Zulfiqar Ali Khan died of cardiac arrest in Islamabad when he had a heart attack at his residence. He was taken to the PAF Hospital in Islamabad but doctors pronounced him dead.[4] He was buried with full military honours.[26]

Awards and decorations

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PAF GD(P) Badge RED (More than 3000 Flying Hours)

Sitara-e-Khidmat

(SK)

(Star of Service)

Tamgha-e-Jang 1965 War

(War Medal 1965)

 Tamgha-e-Jang 1971 War

(War Medal 1971)

 Tamgha-e-Qayam-e-Jamhuria

(Republic Commemoration Medal)

1956

 Legion of Merit

(Degree of Commander)

USA

Notes

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  1. ↑ Urdu: ذوالفقارعلی خان

References

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  1. ↑ "The Hidden Muslim Graves at the Ascension Parish Burial Ground". southasianheritage.org.uk. 22 July 2025.
  2. 1 2 Brigadier (r) Agha Ali Hassan (25 September 2009). "In defence of a former Air Chief". Dawn. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  3. ↑ "The Europa year book 1980 : a world survey". 1980. p. 1174.
  4. 1 2 3 "Air Chief Marshal Zulfiqar passes away". Dawn. 9 March 2005. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 The International Who's Who, 1996-97. 1997. p. 824.
  6. ↑ Alamgir, Sarai. "Alumni of the MCJ". Military College Jhelum. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  7. ↑ "Laid to rest". The News. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  8. ↑ Defence Journal. Ikram ul-Majeed Sehgal. 2006. p. 46.
  9. 1 2 3 The Story Of The Pakistan Air Force: A Saga Of Courage And Honour. Shaheen Foundation, Pakistan. 1988. p. 673, 676, 677, 679, 680.
  10. ↑ (Retd) Air Marshal Syed Shabbir Hussain; (Retd) Squadron Leader M. Tariq Qureshi (1982). History of the Pakistan Air Force, 1947-1982. p. 133.
  11. ↑ Diplomat's Directory. M. H. Samuel. 1966. p. 46.
  12. 1 2 Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema (2002). "Air Chiefs". The Armed Forces of Pakistan. NYU Press. p. 199. ISBN 9780814716335.
  13. ↑ Air Chief's Promotion. Translations on South and East Asia. 1974. p. 19. Air Vice Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan, the chief of air staff, has been promoted to the rank of air marshal. This has been announced by the Ministry of Defense. [Text] [Karachi Domestic Service in English 1600 GMT 6 Sep 74]
  14. ↑ Ramsey, Syed (2017). "Recovery from 1971 war". Pakistan and Islamic Militancy in South Asia. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 9789386367433.
  15. ↑ Amin, A.H. (June 2001). "Remembering our warriors – Group Captain Cecil Chaudhry, SJ". Defence Journal. Lahore. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  16. ↑ "Speech of Comrade Kim Il Sung: Welcome Banquet". The Pyongyang Times. 29 May 1976.
  17. ↑ Mansuri, M.A. (17 August 2016). "Martial law proclaimed". Dawn. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  18. ↑ Arif, General K. M. (2001). Khaki Shadows: The Pakistan Army, 1947–1997. Oxford University Press. p. 190. ISBN 9780195793963.
  19. ↑ Pakistan (1979). The Gazette of Pakistan. p. 362. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  20. ↑ NA, NA (2016). The Statesman's Yearbook: 1991–92. Springer. ISBN 9780230271203.
  21. ↑ Gul, Imtiaz (2010). The Most Dangerous Place: Pakistan's Lawless Frontier. Penguin. p. contents. ISBN 9781101434765.
  22. ↑ Levy, Adrian; Scott-Clark, Catherine (2010). Deception: Pakistan, the United States, and the Secret Trade in Nuclear Weapons. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 188. ISBN 9780802718600.
  23. ↑ Craig Baxter. Pakistan on the Brink: Politics, Economics, and Society. p. 72.
  24. ↑ Strategic Digest. Vol. 20. 1990. p. 2212.
  25. ↑ Brig (Retd) Mian Muhammad Mahmud. Story Of VOP.
  26. ↑ "Pakistan Air Force Ex-Chief Zulfiqar Ali Khan laid to rest". Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
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