Rao Qamar Suleman, (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' 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 = ...

. The four-star ranked general commanded the PAF from 2009 to 2012. Earlier, Suleman served as Deputy Chief of Air Staff of Operations. He was succeeded by Air Chief Marshal

Tahir Rafique Butt Tahir Rafique Butt (Urdu:طاهر رفيق بٹ;b. 1955), is a retired air officer who was the 13th Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force serving from 19 March 2012 to 19 March 2015. He was replaced by Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman. B ...

as Chief of Air Staff on 7 March 2012.

Career

ACM Rao Qamar Suleman was initially trained at

PAF Public School, Sargodha PAF College Sargodha is a Pakistan Air Force operated boarding school located in Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established in 1953. Founded as a feeding school for Pakistan Air Force Academy, it is now a public school since 1990 funded b ...

where he belonged to the 17th entry (851 – Sabre House). Thereafter, he joined 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 ...

Risalpur Risalpur (Pashto/ ur, رسالپور) is a city in Nowshera District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on the Nowshera-Mardan Road. It is nearly 45 km from Peshawar and 18 km from Mardan and is located at 34°4'52N 71°58'21E. In a basin so ...

, in 1972 and was commissioned in the Pakistan Air Force as a fighter pilot on 1 June 1975, in the 59th GD(P) Course.. Suleman is a graduate of the

PAF Air War College PAF Air War College Institute is the Pakistan Air Force academic establishment providing training and education primarily to the mid-career officers of PAF as well as to limited number of officers from Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Army and officer ...

. He holds a master's degree in defense and strategic studies from National Defence College, Islamabad. He has more than 3400 command hours to his credit. He is a Qualified Flying Instructor (QFI) and has been an instructor at 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 ...

. He has served in the Turkish as well as UAE Air forces.

Command and staff appointments

ACM Suleman is an accomplished fighter pilot with rich experience in fighter aircraft. He has commanded an elite fighter squadron, wing and base that includes No. 15 Squadron, No. 31 Wing,

PAF Base Peshawar PAF Base Peshawar is an airbase of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the operational site of the PAF's Northern Air Command, located to the east of Bacha Khan International Airport, which is ...

and Southern Air Command. Suleman was promoted to "Air Vice Marshal" on 9 October 2003 and to "Air Marshal" on 15 November 2007. In staff jobs, he served as directing staff (DS) at PAF Air War College and later became Commandant of Air War College. He served as deputy director at Operations Branch; assistant chief of staff (plans), assistant chief or air staff (evaluation) and deputy inspector general of Pakistan Air Force at air headquarters. In senior staff appointments, Air Marshal has the distinction of having served as Director-general Air Force Strategic Command and Deputy chief of air staff (operations) at the air headquarters, Islamabad.

DCAS (O)

As Deputy Chief of Air Staff Operations "DCAS (O)", Suleman was responsible for all the operations of the PAF. He is the architect of anti-surgical strike strategy, which barred India from carrying out strikes against Pakistan in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. In this capacity, he planned the response to Indian Air Force threat of surgical strikes against Pakistan in the wake of terrorists strike at Mumbai. He deployed force to face Indian threat in November 2008, which thwarted the Indian Air Force plans of surgical strikes.

Chief of Air Staff

As Chief of Air Staff, ACM Suleman is credited with developing PAF's counter terrorism policy, which was a new role. To improve the operational readiness and train in this new role, he conducted the largest number of operational exercises for PAF such as High Mark 2010, Azm-e-Nau, Saffron Bandit, etc., during his command. He also planned operational training exercises with other modern air forces like USAF (Red & Green Flags), Turkish Air Force (Anatolian Eagle and Indus Viper), UAE Air force (ATLC), PLA Air force (Shaheen I), Royal Saudi Air Force (Al Saqoor), Jordanian Air Force (Falcon Meet), etc. During his tenure, PAF flew maximum with least accidents due to his emphasis on flight safety. In 2010, there was not a single accident despite extensive operational exercises, overseas deployments and maximum flying, making 2010 an accident-free year for the first time in history of PAF. Several new types of aircraft and capabilities were added to the PAF fleet and operationalized during his tenure. He started JF 17 aircraft production at Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Kamra and raised two JF 17 aircraft Squadrons. He introduced JF 17 to the world by sending it in various air shows such as Farnborough Air Show (UK), Zhuhai Air Show (China) and Dubai Air Show (UAE). It was also displayed in "Air Show Turkiye," the Centennial Celebration to celebrate 100 years of Turkish Air Force. He also demonstrated the operational capabilities of the new aircraft by its participation in Fire Power display in front of Air attaches, foreign air force observers and aviators from all over the world.

Role in war on terror

ACM Suleman is the architect of counter terrorism policy. Under his command, PAF successfully achieved its objectives of destroying the Taliban infrastructure, and killing the terrorists during the aerial operations. He enabled PAF to defeat the terrorists successfully through new operational trainings and exercises. He led successful aerial operations in Swat and

FATA , conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas , nation = Pakistan , subdivision = Autonomous territory , image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg , image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...

against terrorists. He is also credited for developing close relations between PAF and the

Pakistani Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...

. This resulted in close coordination between the services that resulted in successful joint operations against terrorists and enabled the military forces to engage and destroy the terrorists in remote areas that were inaccessible. The Air Force squadrons are currently engaged in the military operations along with Pakistan Army.

Medals and awards

In recognition of his meritorious and exceptionally dedicated services, he has received the Medal of Excellence

Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Tamgha-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, is a state-organised honour of Pakistan. It is given to any civilian in Pakistan based on their achievements. While it is a civilian/military award, it can be bestowed upon officers of the P ...

(Military), Star of Good Conduct

Sitara-e-Basalat Sitara-e-Basalat ( ur, ستارہِ بسالت, , ''Star of Good Conduct'') is a non-operational gallantry (courageous behaviour, especially in battle) award of Pakistan Armed Forces given to individuals for distinguished acts of gallantry, valor o ...

, Star of Excellence

Sitara-e-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the ...

, Crescent of Excellence Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) and Order of Excellence Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) among many other medals and awards. Based on his bravery, leadership and successful achievements, ACM Suleman was awarded the Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) by the United States of America, King Abdul Aziz Medal Class I by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,

Order of Merit of the Republic of Turkey The Order of Merit of the Republic of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Liyakat Nişanı) is awarded by the President of Turkey with approval of the Prime Minister upon the proposal of the relevant members of the Cabinet considering the opinion ...

by Republic of

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 ...

, and Medal of Merit Santos-Dumont by the Federative Republic of Brazil.

Awards and decorations

Foreign decorations

References

External links

PAF's Chiefs of the Air Staff

Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), ACM Rao Qamar Suleman
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Suleman, Rao Qamar Chiefs of Air Staff, Pakistan Pakistan Air Force air marshals Living people Pakistani Muslims 1954 births Pakistan International Airlines people Pakistani airline chief executives People of the insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Military personnel from Karachi Commanders of the Legion of Merit PAF College Sargodha alumni