PAF Air War College Institute is the Pakistan Air Force academic establishment located at PAF Base Faisal in Karachi, providing training and education primarily to mid-career officers of the air force as well as a limited number of officers from Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Army and allied forces. The college was affiliated with University of Karachi from 1980 to 2005, Air University Pakistan from 2005 to 2007, since then affiliated with the National Defence University, Islamabad along with other staff and war colleges of the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy.
History Established at PAF Station Drigh Road on 5 January 1959 with Commandant Air Commodore CBE Burt Andrews borrowed on Secondment from the Royal Air Force.
The college was housed in a converted hospital building at the station and was inaugurated by President of Pakistan Muhammad Ayub Khan. After conducting the initial courses, the RAF component of the faculty which comprised three officers reverted to their parent organization in December 1961. The college was then taken over entirely by the officers from Pakistan Air Force.
In 1980, the Bachelor of Defence Management Cell was created to offer Bachelor of Defence Management courses, affiliated with the Institute of Business Administration at Karachi University for awarding degrees. Due to rapid technological advancements in modern warfare, the PAF recognized the need for a specialized institution focused on the study of war-related matters. Consequently, the Staff College was elevated to the status of an Air War College in 1987 under Commandant Air Commodore Nasir Ali.Commandant Nasir Ali https://postimg.cc/gallery/9hLZ655
This transformation included significant changes to the curriculum, upgrading the 45-week course to an Air War Course. In 1989, officers from friendly nations were admitted for the first time, and the entire organization relocated to a newly constructed building in 1990. The new facility was inaugurated by President of Pakistan Ghulam Ishaq Khan on 8 December 1991. Officers from allied countries include Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Zimbabwe are regular participants of the Air War course.
In August 2007, the In-Service Education Scheme for mid-career officers got replaced by Officers' Military Education. This change brought the officers' training program under the authority of the college's Commandant. Consequently, the Basic Staff School and Junior Command and Staff School were combined into a single entity known as JC&SS at PAF Camp Badaber. As of August 2010, the institution has seen 28 Staff Courses, 54 Senior Command and Staff Courses, and 23 Air War Courses successfully graduate.
Courses
The college offers two courses: the Air War Course (AWC) and the Senior Command and Staff Course (SC&SC). The AWC is designed to ready senior officers from the Pakistan Air Force and other countries for "senior command and staff roles," while the SC&SC is intended to "prepare mid-career PAF officers for taking on command and staff duties suitable for their rank and experience." After successfully completing the War Course, participants receive the 'fawc' symbol from the College and a Master of Science in War Studies from the National Defence University, Islamabad.Award ceremony at Air War College The Nation (newspaper), Published 12 July 2012, Retrieved 4 October 2021
Organization Since 1996, the college is commanded by an Air Vice Marshal. Under the Commandant is a Deputy Commandant/Chief Instructor War Wing, which are both Air Commodores. In March, 2021, the College was upgraded to Institute (Degree Awarding Institute - DAI). Consequently, the 'Commandant' designation was replaced by the 'President' Air War College Institute. The Officer Commanding the Junior Command & Staff School is a Group Captain, who has a Chief Instructor Basic Staff Wing and Chief Instructor Junior Staff Wing under him.
Mission To educate senior air leaders in Doctrine, Policy, Strategy, Air power employment concept and prepare for war.
Notable alumni Pakistani Nur Khan, 3rd Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Air Force Air Commodore Sajad Haider, 1965 War Hero Zulfiqar Ali Khan, 2nd Chief of Air Staff Anwar Shamim, 3rd Chief of Air Staff Jamal A. Khan, 4th Chief of Air Staff Farooq Feroze Khan, 6th Chief of Air Staff Pervaiz Mehdi Qureshi, 8th Chief of Air Staff Mushaf Ali Mir, 9th Chief of Air Staff Kaleem Saadat, 10th Chief of Air Staff Rao Qamar Suleman, Chief of Air Staff Sohail Aman, 14th Chief of Air Staff Mujahid Anwar Khan, 15th Chief of Air Staff Zaheer Ahmad Babar, 16th Chief of Air Staff Hifazat Ullah Khan, former Vice Chief of Air Staff Abdul Razzaq Anjum, Deputy Chief of Air Staff – (Training) Yastur-ul-Haq Malik, 6th Chief of Naval Staff International Shah Mohammad Ziaur Rahman, 12th Chief of Air Staff (Bangladesh) Shaikh Abdul Hannan, 16th Chief of Air Staff (Bangladesh) Mohd Asghar Khan Goriman Khan, 20th Chief of Air Force (Malaysia)
Air War College Institute In March 2021, Arif Alvi inaugurated the PAF Air War College Institute in Karachi.Alvi inaugurates PAF Air War College Institute in Karachi The News International (newspaper), Published 12 March 2021, Retrieved 4 October 2021
List of Commandants/Presidents
#NameStart of tenureEnd of tenureCommandant Air War College1Air Commodore CBE Burt AndrewsOctober 1958December 19612Air Commodore S. A. YusufJanuary 1962December 19643Air Commodore Abdul QadirJanuary 1965May 19664Air Commodore Abdur Rahim KhanMay 1966June 19685Air Vice Marshal Mohammad AkhtarSeptember 1968June 19696Air Commodore Kamal AhmedDecember 1969April 19727Air Commodore Zafar Mahmud February 1973October 19738Air Commodore Shamshul Huda ShahOctober 1973September 19749Air Vice Marshal Eric G. HallOctober 1974June 197510Air Commodore Ayaz Ahmed KhanSeptember 1975July 197811Air Commodore Saeed A AnsariAugust 1978August 197912Air Commodore Hamid Qureshi August 1979August 198013Air Vice Marshal Nawabzada Rehmat KhanOctober 1980May 198114Air Commodore S Masud Akhtar HatmiMay 1981December 198315Air Commodore Farooq UmarDecember 1983April 198516Air Commodore Altaf SheikhJune 1985June 198617Air Commodore Nasir AliJune 1986July 198818Air Commodore AliuddinJuly 1988December 198919Air Commodore Pervez I MirzaJanuary 1990June 199220Air Vice Marshal Shahid ZulifqarJune 1992April 199321Air Commodore Riffat MunirApril 1993December 199322Air Commodore Zulifqar Ahmed ShahDecember 1993January 199623Air Vice Marshal Qazi Javed AhmedJanuary 1996July 199724Air Vice Marshal Salim ArshadDecember 1997January 200025Air Vice Marshal Masood AkhtarJanuary 2000December 200025Air Vice Marshal Saleem Akhtar NawazJuly 2001December 200126Air Vice Marshal Maqbool Ali Shah January 2002March 2003 27Air Vice Marshal M Ateeb Siddiqui April 2003October 200328Air Vice Marshal Rao Qamar SulemanOctober 2003October 200529Air Vice Marshal M Ateeb SiddiquiOctober 2005October 200630Air Vice Marshal Tubrez AsifNovember 2006November 201031Air Vice Marshal Azher HassanNovember 2010December 201232Air Vice Marshal Farooq HabibDecember 2012March 201533Air Vice Marshal Pirzada Kamaluddin October 2015July 201734Air Vice Marshal Abrar AhmedJuly 2017July 201935Air Vice Marshal Zulfiquar Ahmed QureshiJuly 2019March, 2021President Air War College Institute1Air Vice Marshal Zulfiquar Ahmed QureshiMarch, 2021July, 20212Air Vice Marshal Hussain Ahmed SiddiquiJuly 2021Incumbent
List of Deputy/Assistant Commandants #NameStart of tenureEnd of tenure1Group Captain S. A. JosephSeptember 1958March 19592Group Captain Abdul QadirMarch 1959March 19603Group Captain Eric G. HallMarch 1960December 19614Group Captain R A Simpson (RAF) December 1961December 19635Air Commodore Saeedullah KhanJanuary 1964September 19646Group Captain H M C MisraJune 1966September 19717Group Captain A Rashid Sheikh September 1971July 19738Air Commodore Mahmood ChoonaraOctober 1973June 19749Group Captain Shahid HussainJune 1974December 197410Group Captain Kamal Masud HasanDecember 1974October 197511Group Captain K Anwar MirzaOctober 1975August 197612Group Captain M M Sohail August 1976June 197813Group Captain Imtiaz A BhattiJune 1978August 197814Group Captain Ali KazimAugust 1978April 197915Group Captain Nasir AliApril 1979July 198016Group Captain Farooq Feroze KhanJuly 1980December 198017Group Captain Jaweed AhsanDecember 1980January 198218Group Captain Rashid A BhattiJune 1982June 198419Group Captain Saeed AnwarDecember 1984April 198620Group Captain Mushtaq A LaghariApril 1986July 198621Group Captain Javed AslamOctober 1986April 198722Group Captain Fareed A ShahAugust 1987December 198723Group Captain Tanvir AfghanDecember 1987July 198824Group Captain Khalid SattarOctober 1988July 198925Group Captain Pervez I MirzaJuly 1989January 199025Group Captain Hameedullah KhanFebruary 1990February 199126Group Captain Ata ur Rehman February 1991June 199127Group Captain Aurangzeb Azim July 1991August 199228Air Commodore Riffat MunirAugust 1992April 199329Air Commodore Javed Ishaq KhanJune 1993August 199430Group Captain M. Abdul Qadir SargaanaAugust 1994July 199531Air Commodore M. Abdul Qadir SargaanaJuly 1995July 199632Air Commodore Jamshed AfzalJuly 1996July 199733Air Commodore Arshad H SirajJuly 1997November 199934Air Commodore Kaiser TufailJuly 2000January 200335Air Commodore M Ateeb SiddiquiJanuary 2003April 200336Air Commodore M Jamshed KhanOctober 2003August 200437Air Commodore Kazim Ali AwanAugust 2004June 200638Air Commodore Zaheer A KhanJune 2006October 200839Air Commodore M Shahid KhanOctober 2008N/A
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