ISLAMABAD, Feb 28: Air Marshal Tahir Raffiq Butt will succeed retiring Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman as the twentieth chief of Pakistan Air Force next month.

“Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has advised the president of Pakistan to appoint Air Marshal Tahir Raffiq Butt as the new Chief of Air Staff of Pakistan Air Force,” a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said on Tuesday.

After the prime minister’s advice, which was made public after his meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari, the appointment remains a matter of procedure.

Air Marshal Butt, serving as Vice Chief of the Air Staff since October 2010, will take over the command on March 18. He is the senior most among the serving air marshals and has been long tipped to succeed the outgoing chief.

Commissioned in PAF in 1977, Air Marshall Butt is a graduate of Staff College Turkey and National Defence University Islamabad.

He has flown various types of fighters and training aircraft on PAF inventory and has commanded an elite Fighter Squadron, a Fighter Flying Wing and two PAF Bases.