Zulfiqar Ali Khan

Air Chief Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan (Urdu: ذوالفقار علی خان; 10 December 1930 – 8 March 2005) NI(M), was the first four-star air officer in the Pakistan Air Force and later a diplomat. He was the Air Force's Chief of Air Staff from 15 April 1974 to 22 July 1978. Upon retirement, he served on a diplomatic assignment, and headed the diplomatic mission to the United States as Pakistan's ambassador from 1989 to 1990.

Biography
Zulfikar Ali Khan was born in Lahore, Punjab, British India, on 10 December 1930. He attended a local school in Lahore where he did his matriculation.

From 1947, he attended the Military College Jhelum, but joined the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in 1948 when he transferred to the Pakistan Air Force Academy in Risalpur, NWFP in Pakistan. He was commissioned in the Air Force as a pilot officer and passed out from the PAF Academy in 1950 in the class of 7th GD pilot course on 21 December 1950. IN 1956, Flt-Lt. Khan first command assignment was to No. 20 Squadron Eagles.

In the 1960s, Squadron-Leader Khan was educated at the Air War College, where he earned a degree in staff course. In 1965, Sq-Ldr. Zulfikar Ali Khan participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, commanding No. 9 Squadron Griffins against the Indian Air Force. From 1966 to 1968, Wg-Cdr. Zulfiqar Ali Khan was posted in the Foreign ministry and briefly served as air attaché at the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi, led by H.E. Arshad Hussain.

In 1968, he was promoted to group captain and was posted in East Pakistan, where he was appointed as officer commanding of operations wing of Dacca Air Base, under its Air Officer Commanding, Air Cdre. Inamul Haq. Air Cdre. Khan participated in Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan against the Indian Air Force.

Gp-Capt. Khan was taken prisoner by the Indian Army after the Eastern Command was surrendered by its GOC-in-C, Lieutenant-General A. A. K. Niazi. In 1973, he was repatriated to Pakistan and was allowed to continue his military service and was promoted to a one-star rank, air-commodore, and took over the Air Force Academy as its commandant in 1973, but later posted as commandant of the Air War College for a short time.

His assignments include Officer commanding No. 11 Squadron Arrows, No. 9 Sq. Griffins, and AOC of the Sargodha Air Force Base.

Chief of Air Staff
In 1974, Air-Cdre. Zulfiqar Ali Khan was promoted to air vice marshal and was appointed as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff of Aerial Planning at the Air Headquarters in Islamabad but was later posted as Director-General of Air Operations.

On 14 April 1974, AVM Zulfiqar Ali Khan was surprisingly appointed the second Chief of Air Staff to take over the command of the Air Force as an air-marshal. The appointment was controversial since Air-Marshal Zafar Chaudhry resigned, and Air-Marshal Khan had succeeded seven senior air officers in the Air Force.

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 of the Air Defence Command, and provided his support to rebuilding Mirage III aircraft at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.

On 1 January 1976, Air-Mshl. Khan was promoted to four-star rank, air chief marshal (ACM), becoming the first four-star officer in the Pakistan Air Force. ACM Zulfiqar Ali Khan was then made senior member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, and honored with the NI(M) for meritorious services. During this same time, ACM Zulfikar Ali Khan helped establish the Combat Commanders' School set up under Gp-Capt. Cecil Chaudhry.

Over the issue of clandestine atomic bomb programme, ACM Zulfiqar Ali Khan reportedly advised Prime Minister Bhutto against the acquisition of the aging A-7 and F-5 military aircraft in order to stop the work on the reprocessing plant for plutonium development, noting that "atomic bomb programme should not stop for any reason be compromised."

On 5 July 1978, ACM Zulfikar Ali Khan was appointed Deputy CMLA along with naval chief Admiral Moh'd Sharif, army chief General Zia-ul-Haq, and Chairman joint chiefs General Muh'd Shariff after the military coup d'état against the civilian government led by Prime Minister Zulfikar Bhutto.

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 newly appointed ACM Anwar Shamim.

Foreign service
Upon retirement, Zulfikar Ali Khan joined the Foreign Service and was appointed Pakistan's ambassador to Switzerland, serving from 1979 to 1981.

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

In 1989, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto appointed him as the Pakistan Ambassador to the United States in Washington DC. However, his tenureship was marked with controversy involving the continuation of atomic deterrence, which he failed to cover up in the United States. In 1990, he was recalled to Pakistan after serving as ambassador for only a year.

Death
On 8 March 2005, Air Chief Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan died of cardiac arrest in Islamabad when he suffered a heart attack at his residence and was taken to the PAF Hospital, but the doctors pronounced him dead. He was given a state funeral with full honours. Begum Sajida Zulifqar, wife of Air Chief Marshal Zulifqar Ali Khan, died on 30 September 2012 and her funeral prayers were attended by all former PAF Air Chiefs, politicians, bureaucrats, senior serving and retired military officials and a large number of people from all walks of life.