Asghar Khan

Air Marshal Asghar Khan (17 January 1921 – 5 January 2018) was Pakistani politician, aviation historian, peace activist, and retired three star rank air force general of the Pakistan Army.

Asghar Khan
اصغر خان‎
Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Air Force
In office 23 July 1957 – 22 July 1965
President	Iskander Mirza Ayub Khan
Preceded by	AVM Arthur McDonald
Succeeded by	Air Marshal Nur Khan
President of Pakistan International Airlines
In office 20 August 1965 – 31 November 1968
Preceded by	Arthur McDonald
Succeeded by	Air Marshal Nur Khan
Chairman of the Tehrik-e-Istiqlal
In office 29 June 1970 – 12 December 2011 Merged with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Imran Khan
Personal details
Born	Mohammad Asghar Khan (1921-01-17)17 January 1921 Jammu, Kashmir, British Indian Empire
Died	5 January 2018(2018-01-05) (aged 96) Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Citizenship	British Subject (1921–1947) Pakistan (1947–)
Political party	Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Other political affiliations	Tehrik-e-Istiqlal
Children	Nasreen Asghar Khan Shereen Asghar Khan Omar Asghar Khan Ali Asghar Khan
Residence	Abbottabad
Alma mater	Royal Air Force College Indian Military Academy
Occupation	administrator politician
Profession	fighter pilot
Military service
Nickname(s)	Night Flyer
Allegiance	United Kingdom Pakistan
Branch/service	United Kingdom Air Force Pakistan Air Force
Years of service	1940–1965
Rank	Air Marshal (Lieutenant-General)
Unit	No. 9 Squadron Griffins
Commands	Pakistan Air Force Academy No. 1 Stryker Group, Peshawar AFB Directorate-General for the Air Operations (DGAO) Precision Engineering Complex Assistant Chief of Air Staff
Battles/wars	World War II Burma Campaign 1944–1945 Indo-Pakistani War of 1947

Khan served as the first native Commander in Chief of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) under President Iskander Mirza (1956–59) and under President Ayub Khan until resigning in 1965 before the start of the air operations of the PAF during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.

In 1970, Asghar Khan founded the secular party, the Tehrik-e-Istiqlal, but performed poorly in 1970 parliamentary elections.

Khan died on 5 January 2018 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan of complications from Parkinson's disease at the age of 96.

Asghar Khan Media

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  Same as title

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  Sardar Samad Khan led the Pashtun group that served as bodyguards for Ranjit Singh. He was the paternal grandfather of Air Marshal Asghar Khan.

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  Major General Samundar Khan Afridi, c. 1945

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  Second Lieutenant Khan in his Cavalry Blue Patrol Dress, 1940

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  Asghar Khan and Nur Khan among 77 Pilot Officer Cadets at No. 1 (I) SFTS, 1941

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  Asghar Khan, Cadet Captain Dharanidhar Jayal, and Nur Khan, at a PWRIMC reunion (1941)

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  From left: Nur Khan, Asghar Khan, Abdur Rahim Khan, Om Prakash Mehra, Minoo Merwan Engineer, and an unidentified officer (1944)

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  Squadron Leader Shivdev Singh, second from left, flanked by a British Indian Army officer, while Flight Lieutenant Asghar Khan, third from the left, is flanked by a Wing Commander during a mission planning session, World War II, 1945

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  Air Vice Marshal Asghar Khan replies to the farewell address of Arthur McDonald, 23 July 1957

• King Zahir Shah arrives at PAF Station Mauripur with President Iskandar Mirza and Nahid Mirza, welcomed by AVM Asghar Khan and Air Cdre Nur Khan. Also present are General Ayub Khan and the Iraqi, Turkish, and Iranian Air Chiefs. The World record loop is featured at the end of the footage, 2 February 1958.

• Air Marshal Asghar Khan appears throughout a video of the SEATO military chiefs' conference at Lancaster House, where military leaders discussed Far Eastern defence and the Vietnam War, 1965.