Tahir Rafique Butt (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' air officer An air officer is an air force officer of the rank of air commodore or higher. Such officers may be termed "officers of air rank". While the term originated in the Royal Air Force, air officers are also to be found in many Commonwealth nations ...

who was the 13th Chief of Air Staff of the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

serving from 19 March 2012 to 19 March 2015. He was replaced by Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman. Before being appointed chief he served as Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) since 5 October 2010. His other appointments include

Deputy Chief of the Air Staff Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (DCAS) may refer to: * Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Australia) * Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (India) * Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Pakistan) * Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom) The Deputy Chief ...

at Air Headquarters and commanding an operational base.

Biography

Tahir Rafique Butt was born in 1955 to a Kashmiri family, in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. He received his early education from the PAF Public School, a boarding school managed by the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

. After graduating from PAF Public School in 1973, he enrolled in Punjab University and attained

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

in 1975. The same year, Butt's nomination was accepted at the

Pakistan Air Force Academy The Pakistan Air Force Academy Asghar Khan ( ur, ) is an accredited three-year military academy which provides undergraduate education to officer candidates for the Pakistan Air Force. The eligible and selected candidates from all over Pakista ...

after being interviewed by the

Inter-Services Selection Board , logo = Pakistan Inter Services (Emblem).png , motto = We Select Defenders of Pakistan , abbreviation = ISSB , formation = , headquarters = Kohat , addnl_location_city = GujranwalaQuett ...

. During his mid-officer career, Rafique studied at the National University of Modern Languages before transferring to

Quaid-e-Azam University Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad ( ur, ; commonly referred to as QAU), founded as University of Islamabad, is a ranked 1 public research university in Islamabad, Pakistan. Founded as the University of Islamabad in 1967, it was initially dedi ...

in 1993–94. From 1994 to 1995, he spent a semester at the

Staff College Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For e ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. From 2000 until 2001, Rafique continued his studies at National Defence University (NDU) where he gained his MSc in

Defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indus ...

and Strategic studies. From December 2007 until July 2008, Rafique served as the Chief Instructor (CI) and commandant of the National Security College at NDU.

Career in Air Force

Tahir Butt graduated from the Air Force Academy on 6 March 1977 as a General Duty Pilot (GDP). He secured his commission as P/Off. and served in Sq. No 1 ''Rehbar'' on course of a Fighter Conversion Unit (FCU). From 1977 to 1979, he served on various flight assignments and joined the Air Force Academy to instruct flying courses on fixed-wing aircraft. Sq. Ldr, he served on the combat units and flew with the No. 9 ''Griffins'' and No. 20 ''Eagles'' from 1983 to 1984. Butt also served as a

military adviser Military advisors, or combat advisors, advise on military matters. Some are soldiers sent to foreign countries to aid such countries with their military training, organization, and other various military tasks. The Foreign powers or organizations ...

to the Zimbabwean Air Force which he served from 1984 until 1986. Upon returning to

, Butt resumed the combat duty with the No. 18 ''War Hawks''. In 1988, he was selected to join the

Combat Commanders' School The Combat Commanders' School or CCS is the fighter weapons and advanced air combat tactics development and training school of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) based at PAF Base Mushaf, Sargodha, Pakistan.Pakistan Air Force, ''The Story of the Pakist ...

and graduated as a combat fighter in special operations. Eventually promoted as Wg Cdr, he commanded the No. 15 ''Cobras'' in 1990; during his service, he flew Mirage-III, F-7P, F-6S, T-37,

SF-260 The SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 (now Leonardo SF-260) is an Italian light aircraft which has been commonly marketed as a military trainer and aerobatics aircraft. The SF.260 was designed by Italian aircraft designer Stelio Frati, while production wor ...

, and MFI-17. From 1990 to 1991, he commanded No. 19 ''Sherdils'' before being promoted to Gp. Capt to command the Rafiqui AFB.

Staff assignments

His staff assignment included the deputy director of Special Operations and Development at the AHQ from 1996 to 1999. Previously, he served as Additional Director on Special Operations at the Chaklala AFB in 1990. From 2000 to 2001, Rafique served as base commander of the PAF Base Lower Topa. Upon promoting to Air Cdre in 2001, Rafique served as

ACAS The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) is a Crown non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to improve organisations and working life through the promotion and facilitation of strong ...

of the Personnel; he also served as base commander of M.M. Alam AFB in

Mianwali Mianwali (Punjabi/ ur, ) is the capital city of Mianwali District in Punjab, Pakistan. The 81st largest city of Pakistan, it is known for its diverse population of, Punjabi and Pashtun ethnicities. History Mianwali District was an agricult ...

in 2002. In 2005, his grade was promoted to two star rank and elevated as AVM in the

. From 2005 until 2007, he served in the

National Accountability Bureau The National Accountability Bureau ( ur, ; abbreviated NAB) is an autonomous and constitutionally established federal institution responsible to build efforts against corruption and prepare critical national economic intelligence assessments ...

(NAB) and directed the KpK branch. In 2009, he was promoted Air Marshal and became

AOC Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of ...

of Southern Air Command which is headquartered in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

Chief of Air Staff

Prior to being appointed as chief of air staff, Rafique was serving as the VCAS at the AHQ. At the time of retirement of ACM Rao Qamar Suleman, Rafique was most senior air marshal; his appointment came directly based on seniority. After much speculation, his four-star appointment was confirmed in the media. Earlier reports indicated that five air marshals had been in the race to become the next air chief. However, upholding the principle of seniority, the government chose Butt, similar to when the government appointed the new chief of naval staff, last year. On 7 March 2012, Butt's grade was promoted to four-star rank and elevated as the ACM; he assumed the charge of chief of air staff on 19 March 2012.

Awards and decorations

Foreign Decorations

Effective dates of promotion

Sources

Inter Services Public Relations , Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt

References

External links

PAF's Chiefs of the Air Staff

Video: Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt takes over as new Chief of the Air Staff, PAF - March 19, 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butt, Tahir Rafique Living people 1955 births Punjabi people People from Sargodha District University of the Punjab alumni Pakistan Air Force Academy alumni Pakistani aviators National Defence University, Pakistan alumni Quaid-i-Azam University alumni Chiefs of Air Staff, Pakistan Pakistan Air Force air marshals Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz Recipients of Tamgha-e-Basalat Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent Academic staff of the National Defence University, Pakistan