ISLAMABAD: Air Mar­shal Mujahid Anwar Khan was on Friday designated as the new chief of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and he will assume command on March 19 (Monday).

Air Marshal Khan will succeed Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, who is retiring from service after completing his tenure.

The new air chief was earlier posted as deputy chief of air staff. He also held the critical assignment of director general of Air Force Strategic Command at the Air Headquarters.

With his appointment as the next PAF chief, he has superseded Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Farooq Habib, who was senior to him.

Air Marshal Khan, PAF officers say, is a brilliant officer perfectly suited for the assignment and has got all the required experience for the job.

The 56-year-old officer was commissioned in the PAF in 1983 as a pilot. He is the recipient of the coveted Sword of Honour, Best Pilot Trophy and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gold Medal from the PAF Academy Asghar Khan, according to his profile shared by the PAF’s media directorate.

The command and staff appointments held by Air Marshal Khan include command of a fighter squadron, a tactical attack wing, base commander of two elite F-16 bases and Air Officer Commanding of Regional Air Command.

He is a qualified Flying Instructor and graduate of Combat Commanders’ School, Command and Staff College, Jordan, Air War College, Faisal, and National Defence University, Islamabad. He has also served as personal staff officer to the chief of the air staff, assistant chief of the air staff (operations), deputy chief of the air staff (operations) and director general C4I at the Air Headquarters.

He has flown various training and fighter aircraft, including F-16, F-6, FT-5, T-37 and MFI-17. He is a decorated officer. He has been awarded Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military), Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Military) and Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (Military).

The military’s spokesman in a congratulatory tweet said: “Congrats to Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan on appointment as Chief of Air Staff Pakistan Air Force. Best wishes from Pakistan Armed Forces. Good luck for carrying forward the baton.”

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2018