Air Chief Marshal Farooq Feroze Khan, NI(M), SBt, (born 17 August 1939) is a retired 4 star general and the air officer in the Pakistan Air Force who headed the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Chief of Air Staff, from 1991 to 1994. Air Chief Marshal, a 4 star general and air officer, Farooq Feroze Khan was the Supreme Commandant of the Pakistan Armed Forces as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1994 to 1997. He was the first, and to date the only, Air Force 4 star general and air officer to accomplish this task.[2]
Air Force career
Farooq Feroze Khan joined the PAF after completing his Senior Cambridge from PAF Public School Sargodha where he belonged to 1st entry (69 – Fury House).[3] He was selected for training at the USAF Academy and on return, was commissioned in the PAF in 4 January 1959 in the 27th GD(P) Course. He has flown all the aircraft in the PAF inventory and even the Hunters, which he flew while on attachment to Royal Air Force.
Command and staff appointments
A graduate of Flight Leaders School, Khan has commanded No. 9 Squadron, No. 33 Wing, and two fighter bases; PAF Base Sargodha and Masroor. He also has the distinction of commanding a Fighter Wing in the United Arab Emirates Air Force for three years.[2]
Some of his staff appointments included Personal Staff Officer to the Chief of Air Staff, Assistant Commandant of PAF Air War College, Senior Air Staff Officer at the Southern Air Command, ACAS (Plans), DCAS (Operations) and Vice Chief of Air Staff. He was seconded to the Pakistan International Airlines as Chairman/MD before assuming command of the PAF in 1991.
Chief of Air Staff
ACM Farooq F. Khan assumed the command of PAF at a difficult time. The Pressler Amendment had just been enforced and all the plans made for the restructuring of the Force had to be changed. He undertook the review and oversaw the induction of Australian Mirages, their upgrade, and the induction of F-7s. He also launched the search for a hi-tech weapon system in lieu of the F-16s that had been denied. he ensured the smooth amalgamation of the engineering branches, reorganized the Personnel Branch, and injected new life into the Inspectorate system by creating the post of Inspector General with wide ranging powers.
He was decorated with Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military), Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military), Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Military) and Sitara-e-Basalat.[2] He was CAS for three years and eight months before becoming CJCSC for three years from 1994 to 1997.
Personal Life
Retd. Air Chief Marshall Farooq Feroze Khan is the son of the Olympic Gold Medalist Feroze Khan (field hockey). He is a descendant of the Burki Pathans of Jalandar and belongs to the Danishmand branch (khel). He is married to Farzana Khan and has three children. He currently resides in Islamabad.
Pakistan
Pakistan Air Force
Air Chief Marshal (General)
