Rao Qamar Suleman NI(M) HI(M) SI(M) SBt TI(M) LoM (Urdu: راؤ قمر سلیمان) was the 12th Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force. 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 as Chief of Air Staff on 7 March 2012.[1] He briefly served as the chairman of the Pakistan International Airlines in 2012.[2]
Rao Qamar Suleman راؤ قمر سلیمان | |
|---|---|
| 12th Chief of Air Staff | |
| In office 19 March 2009 – 19 March 2012 | |
| President | Asif Ali Zardari |
| Prime Minister | Yusuf Raza Gillani |
| Preceded by | Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed |
| Succeeded by | Tahir Rafique Butt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1954 (age 69–70) Lahore, Dominion of Pakistan |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Pakistan |
| Branch/service |  Pakistan Air Force |
| Years of service | 1 June 1975 – 18 March 2012 |
| Rank | Air Chief Marshal |
| Commands | PAF Base Peshawar PAF Air War College Southern Air Command DG Air Force Strategic Command DCAS (Operations) Chief of Air Staff |
| Battles/wars | War in North-West Pakistan |
| Awards |  Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Military) Sitara-e-Basalat Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (Military).png){kind=small} Order of King Abdulaziz Turkish Legion of Merit Legion of Merit.png){kind=small} Santos-Dumont Medal |
Early life and education edit
ACM Rao Qamar Suleman was initially trained at PAF Public School, Sargodha where he belonged to the 17th entry (851 – Sabre House).[3] Thereafter, he joined the Pakistan Air Force Academy, Risalpur, in 1972 and was commissioned in the Pakistan Air Force as a fighter pilot on 1 June 1975, in the 59th GD(P) Course.[citation needed].
Suleman is a graduate of the PAF Air War College. He holds a master's degree in defense and strategic studies from National Defence College, Islamabad.[4] 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. He has served in the Turkish as well as UAE Air forces.
Command and staff appointments edit
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 and Southern Air Command.
Suleman was promoted to "Air Vice Marshal" on 9 October 2003[5] and to "Air Marshal" on 15 November 2007.[4]
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;[6] assistant chief of staff (plans), assistant chief or air staff (evaluation)[5] and deputy inspector general of Pakistan Air Force[6] 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.[citation needed]
DCAS (O) edit
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 edit
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).[7] 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 edit
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 against terrorists.
He is also credited for developing close relations between PAF and the Pakistani Army. 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 edit
In recognition of his meritorious and exceptionally dedicated services, he has received the Medal of Excellence Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Military), Star of Good Conduct Sitara-e-Basalat, Star of Excellence Sitara-e-Imtiaz, 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,[8][9] Order of Merit of the Republic of Turkey by Republic of Turkey,[10][11][9] and Medal of Merit Santos-Dumont by the Federative Republic of Brazil.[9][12]
Awards and decorations edit
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| PAF GD(P) Badge RED (More than 3000 flying hours) | |||
| Parachutist Badge | |||
| Combat Commanders' School Sargodha Instructor's Sword | |||
| Nishan-e-Imtiaz
(Order of Excellence) |
Hilal-e-Imtiaz
(Crescent of Excellence) |
Sitara-e-Imtiaz
(Star of Excellence) |
Sitara-e-Basalat
(Star of Good Conduct) |
| Tamgha-e-Imtiaz
(Medal of Excellence) |
Tamgha-e-Baqa[9]
1998 |
Tamgha-e-Istaqlal Pakistan
2002 |
10 Years Service Medal |
| 20 Years Service Medal | 30 Years Service Medal | 35 Years Service Medal | Tamgha-e-Sad Saala Jashan-e-
(100th Birth Anniversary of 1976 |
| Hijri Tamgha[9]
(Hijri Medal) 1979 |
Jamhuriat Tamgha
(Democracy Medal) 1988 |
Qarardad-e-Pakistan Tamgha
(Resolution Day Golden Jubilee Medal) 1990 |
Tamgha-e-Salgirah Pakistan
(Independence Day Golden Jubilee Medal) 1997 |
| Order of King Abdul Aziz
2010 |
Turkish Legion of Merit[10]
(Turkey) 2010 |
The Legion of Merit
(United States) 2010 |
Santos-Dumont Merit Medal[12]
(Brazil) 2011 |
Foreign decorations edit
| Foreign Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
 Saudi Arabia
|
Order of King Abdul Aziz (1st Class)[8] |
|
 Turkey
|
Turkish Legion of Merit[10][11] |
|
 United States
|
The Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) |
|
 Brazil
|
Santos-Dumont Merit Medal[12] |
|
References edit
- ^ APP (7 March 2012). "Air Marshal Tahir Butt appointed new PAF chief". Dawn. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
- ^ "PIA chairman resigns after 6 months in office". The Express Tribune. 18 September 2012.
- ^ "PAF Public School Sargodha profile" Archived 27 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine Sargodhians website
- ^ a b "Daily Times – Latest Pakistan News, World, Business, Sports, Lifestyle". Daily Times. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ a b "4 promoted as AVMs". DAWN.COM. 10 October 2003. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ a b "The News International: Latest News Breaking, Pakistan News". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ Hyatt, Anthony J. (20 June 2011). "Air Show celebrates 100th anniversary of the Turkish air force". Incirlik Air Base. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
- ^ a b c "Saudi Arabia Confers 'The King Abdul Aziz Award' to Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force" (PDF). Pakistan Air Force. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g Limited, Alamy. "Prime Minister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani talks with Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman during farewell meeting at PM House in Islamabad on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 Stock Photo – Alamy". www.alamy.com. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "PAF chief gets top Turkish award". Dawn. 17 June 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ a b "PAF Chief awarded Turkish Legion of Merit Award" (PDF). Pakistan Air Force. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "Rao Qamar conferred Merit of Santos Dumont award". Business Recorder. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2022.