PAF Gets A New Chief

At a simple ceremony held on Monday at the Air Headquarters, Air Chief Marshall Tahir Rafique Butt became the new chief of PAF, taking over the command from outgoing Chief Rao Qamar Suleman.

The guests present at the ceremony saw the new Air Chief taking over the Command Sword from the retiring Chief. Rafique received badges from Qamar Suleman to signify his formal promotion to the rank of Air Chief. The change of command was witness to a guard of honor for both the outgoing as well as the new Air Chief.

At the ceremony, retiring Air Chief Suleman said that he was happy to hand over the command of the world’s best Air Force to an officer worthy of the responsibility. In his farewell speech, the outgoing chief said that achieving professional excellence was always a continuous process and stressed on the urgent need to keep up with the latest advances in aviation technology so as to not lag behind other top Air Forces of the world. He said that during his tenure, he gave prominence to merit and harped upon honesty and integrity along with teamwork and professional skills. He expressed satisfaction that the benchmarks set by him were followed in PAF in both letter and spirit hat paved the way for action readiness with utmost safety in place. He also said that as Air Chief, he endeavored to transform PAF into a modern fighting unit second to none and ready to face the challenges of 21st century.

Suleman said, “Our fighter fleet has been upgraded with the fourth generation fighter aircraft and force multipliers”. He also said that he felt proud to see induction of all the latest weapon systems and modern equipment in PAF. He also mentioned with a sense of satisfaction the establishment of two squadrons for indigenously produced JF-17 Thunder aircraft that have been pressed into production for the last three years. He mentioned that this aircraft had surpassed expectations in performance and achieved success in all exercises and action that was on display in various air shows held in different parts of the world. He also talked about other major inductions in PAF including Saab-2000 AEWC, IL-76 (for air to air refueling), ZDK-03 AWACS and Spada-2000 Lomad systems.

Outgoing Air Chief did not fail to mention that it was not just induction of latest modern weapon systems and equipment in PAF but also their operationalisation that was achieved in a thorough and professional manner that brought a sense of deep satisfaction to him. He thanked the entire family of PAF for making it an unforgettable and happy experience for him during his tenure as Air Chief in the last three years.