Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Tuesday advised President Asif Ali Zardari to appoint Air Marshal Tahir Rafiq Butt as the new Chief of Air Staff of Pakistan Air Force. After his formal appointment by the president, Air Marshal Tahir will take oath of his office in the next few days, as Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman will leave the post on March 17. There was some speculation in the media about extension being given to Air Chief Suleman, but he himself quashed them by telling the media that he had no desire to seek another term and would step down on the set date. Air Marshal Tahir was commissioned in General Duties (Pilot) Branch of PAF on March 6, 1977.
He served as a fighter pilot in various squadrons of PAF and has also qualified Flying Instructors’, Combat Commanders’, Armed Forces War and Turkish War Courses. During his career, he has commanded a fighter squadron, a fighter wing, an operational PAF Base and a Regional Air Command. In his last assignment, he was serving as the deputy chief of the Air Staff (Personnel) at Air Headquarters, Islamabad. He is a recipient of Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military), Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Military) and Tamgha-e-Basalat.
