Abbas Khattak

Air Chief Marshal Mohammad Abbas Khattak (Urdu: عاس خٹک; b. 16 July 1943) NI(m), SBt, is a four-star rank air force general in the Pakistan Air Force who tenured as the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) from 8 November 1994 until 7 November 1997.[3][4]

Air Chief Marshal

Abbas Khattak

SBt, NI(M)
عباس خٹک
Chief of Air Staff
In office
8 November 1994 – 7 November 1997
Preceded byACM Farooq Feroze Khan
Succeeded byACM Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi
President of Pakistan Squash Federation
In office
1997–1998
Personal details
Born
Mohammad Abbas Khattak

(1943-07-16) 16 July 1943
Peshawar, NWFP in British Sub continent
(Present-day in Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan)
Military service
Nickname(s)Muhammad Abbas Khattak
Allegiance Pakistan
Branch/service Pakistan Air Force
Years of service1960 – 1997
RankAir Chief Marshal
UnitNo. 19 squadron '[1]
(S/No. PAF No. 4385:430[2])
CommandsDCAS (Operations)
DCAS (Training)
AOC Southern Air Command
Battles/warsIndo-Pakistani War of 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
AwardsNishan-i-Imtiaz (military)
Sitara-e-Basalat

Biography

Abbas Khattak was born in Peshawar, NWFP in India, on 16 July 1943.:355[5] He was educated at the Cadet College Hasan Abdal, and joined the Pakistan Air Force in 1960, from which he was directed to attend the famed Pakistan Air Force Academy in Risalpur.:355[5] He passed out with the class of 35th GD(P), and gained commission on 20 January 1963 in No. 19 Squadron Sherdils.[1]:355[5]

P/Off. Khattak was trained to fly the F-86 Sabre and took participation in the various combat missions during the second war with India in 1965.[1] During this time, F/Off. was among the eight fighter pilots who were selected to take part in famous aerial raid on Pathankot Air Force Station in India, a squadron commanded by then-Squadron-Leader Sajjad Haider.:488–489[6]:122[7] In 1970–71, Sq-Ldr. Khattak was posted with the Eastern Command in East-Pakistan, leading several mission against the Indian Air Force but was reposted in Sargodha Air Force Base before his country's surrender in Eastern Front of the third war with India in 1971.:69[8]

After the war, Wg-Cdr. Khattak was directed to attend the war course at the National Defence University in Islamabad.[9]

In 1988, Air-Commodore Khattak was appointed as an AOC of the Southern Air Command, serving until 1990.:48[10] In 1991, AVM Khattak was eventually posted at the Air AHQ in Islamabad as an DCAS (Training), where he played a pioneering role in aviation and flight safety programs.:327[11] In 1994, Air-Marshal Khattak was promoted to DCAS (Operations) at the Air AHQ in Islamabad.:206[12]

Chief of Air Staff

On 8 November 1994, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto approved the promotion papers of Air-Mshl. Khattak to be promoted to the four-star rank, Air Chief Marshal. This promotion was controversial since Air Mshl. Khattak superseded two senior air officers: Air-Mshl. Shafique Haider (the VCAS), and Air Mshl. Dlavar Hussain (Chairman PAC).:49–50[13]

During his tenureship as an air chief, ACM Khattak made attempts to acquire the Mirage-2000 from Qatar but vetoed the acquisition of MiG-29F and the Su-27 aircraft from the Eastern Europe, despite the strong backing of the then- Chairman joint chiefs, ACM Feroze Khan, due to their poor war performances.:58–60[14] During his tenure, Pakistan worked with China to develop the K-8 Karakorum.[15] After his retirement he was succeeded by Air Chief Marshal PQ Mehdi.

He is married and has two sons.[9]

See also

References
  1. "Feats of Courage". www.paf.gov.pk. ISPR (Air Force Division). Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  2. The Gazette of Pakistan. 1980. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  3. The Story of the Pakistan Air Force 1988-1998: A Battle Against Odds (Oxford University Press, 2000)
  4. Cheema, Pervaiz Iqbal (2002). The Armed Forces of Pakistan:Air Chiefs. New York University Press. pp. 199/200. ISBN 0-8147-1633-4.
  5. Shaikh, A. Rashid (2000). The Story of the Pakistan Air Force, 1988-1998: A Battle Against Odds (google books) (1st ed.). Karachi, Sindh, Pk.: Shaheen Foundation. p. 414. ISBN 9789698553005. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  6. Bhattacharya, Brigadier Samir (2013). NOTHING BUT! (googlebooks). Partridge Publishing. ISBN 9781482816266. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  7. Mohan, P. V. S. Jagan; Chopra, Samir (2005). The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965. Manohar. ISBN 9788173046414. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  8. Hussaini, Syed Masood Akhtar; Affairs, Pakistan Air Force Directorate of Media (2002). Pakistan Air Force over the years. Directorate of Media Affairs, Pakistan Air Force. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  9. Niaz, Anjum (22 November 2008). "ISLAMABAD DATELINE: Top Gun Vs Double Agents". Dawn Newspaper. Islamabad: Dawn Media Group. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  10. "Shaheen: Journal of the Pakistan Air Force". Air Headquarters. 1988. Retrieved 6 January 2018. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. Jane's Defence Weekly. Jane's Publishing Company. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  12. Siddiqa-Agha, A. (2001). Pakistan's Arms Procurement and Military Buildup, 1979-99: In Search of a Policy. Springer. ISBN 9780230513525. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  13. Globe. Afzal Mahmood. 1994. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  14. Air Force Chief says that F-16s "Not Indispensable". Daily Report: Near East & South Asia, The Service. 1994. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  15. Asia Pacific Defense Forum Spring 1998 Archived 28 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
Military offices
Preceded by
Farooq Feroze Khan		 Chief of Air Staff
1994 – 1997		 Succeeded by
Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi
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