Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi
Encyclopedia
Air Chief Marshal
Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi (Sbt
, SI(M), HI(M), NI(M), SoH
) is a retired senior officer of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF)
. He served as the PAF Chief of Air Staff
from 1997 to 2000 and led the PAF during the 1999 Kargil War
. After serving his three year tenure as the Chief of Air Staff he was replaced by Mushaf Ali Mir
in November 2000.
in the Pakistan Air Force on 20 June 1964 in the 38th GD(P) Course and won the Sword of Honour
after graduating from Pakistan Air Force Academy
Risalpur
. A career fighter pilot, Mehdi took part in and participated in Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
.
He was posted to then East Pakistan
where he took part in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
as a young flight lieutenant (Captain). While attacking enemy ground units during a close air support
mission, his group of three F-86 Sabre
fighters were attacked by four Indian Folland Gnat
s. According to a Bangladeshi source, Qureshi's group was at a significant disadvantage because there were no radars in East Pakistan to warn them, whereas the attacking Indian fighters were directed by Indian radar controllers at Barrackpore. Qureshi was shot down and taken Prisoner of War
, later being released to Pakistan.
After returning to Pakistan, Qureshi steadily rose to command No. 9 Squadron and then led the strategically important Sargodha Air Force Base
. He was then given the command of Southern Air Command (SAC). This command features considerable interaction amongst the three services. He was then made Air Officer Commanding Air Defence Command (ADC).
His staff appointments included Senior Air Staff Officer, Southern Air Command, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operations) and the all-important Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Operations) at the Air Headquarters (AHQ), in charge of all the operations and plans of the air force. This succeeded with the posting as vice chief of air staff (VCAS) and finally as the head of all the air force as Chief of Air Staff (CAS)
. He took over the command from the retiring Air Chief Marshal Abbas Khattak
in November 1997.
Known to have an imposing personality, Qureshi warned the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
during the Kargil War that any intervention by the Air Force into disputed land of Indian-Occupied Kashmir would be perceived as an escalation to all-out war. According to Air Cdre Kaiser Tufail, "Qureshi’s rather straight-faced and forthright dealings with a somewhat junior General Pervez Musharraf
particularly during Kargil conflict was a good reason to believe that the latter decided to appoint a not-very-senior Air Chief whom he could order around like one of his Corps Commanders." (Musharraf after assuming control as the Chief Executive superseded five senior Air Marshals and appointed a sixth-in-line to the post of CAS once Qureshi was due for retirement).
Mehdi is a qualified flying instructor who has also done Staff Course from PAF Staff College and Armed Forces War Course from National Defence College
, Rawalpindi.
Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi (Sbt
Awards and decorations of the Pakistan military
The awards and decorations of the Pakistan Armed Forces recognize a service member's service and personal accomplishments while a member of the Pakistan armed forces...
, SI(M), HI(M), NI(M), SoH
Sword of Honor
The Sword of Honour is an honorary sword awarded to that “Gentleman Cadet” or “Gentlewoman Cadet” who achieves an overall best performance during his or her entire training period at the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul, the Pakistan Air Force Academy at Risalpur, or the Pakistan Naval Academy at...
) is a retired senior officer of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF)
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
. He served as the PAF Chief of Air Staff
Chief of Air Staff (Pakistan)
The Chief of the Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force, abbreviated as CAS, is typically the highest ranking 4-star rank officer in the Pakistan Air Force, unless a four-star officer is appointed as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. The CAS is a senior and permanent member of the...
from 1997 to 2000 and led the PAF during the 1999 Kargil War
Kargil War
The Kargil War ,, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control...
. After serving his three year tenure as the Chief of Air Staff he was replaced by Mushaf Ali Mir
Mushaf Ali Mir
Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir was four-star general of the Pakistan Air Force who served as the chief of air staff of the Pakistan Air Force from 20 November 2000 until his death on February 20, 2003 when the PAF Fokker F-27 he was traveling in, crashed near Kohat, Pakistan...
in November 2000.
Air Force career
P Q Mehdi was commissioned as a fighter pilotFighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
in the Pakistan Air Force on 20 June 1964 in the 38th GD(P) Course and won the Sword of Honour
Sword of Honor
The Sword of Honour is an honorary sword awarded to that “Gentleman Cadet” or “Gentlewoman Cadet” who achieves an overall best performance during his or her entire training period at the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul, the Pakistan Air Force Academy at Risalpur, or the Pakistan Naval Academy at...
after graduating from Pakistan Air Force Academy
Pakistan Air Force Academy
"RAF Risalpur", "Risalpur Airbase/Airfield" & "Pakistan Air Force/PAF Base Risalpur" redirects here.The Pakistan Air Force Academy also known as PAFA, is an accredited co-educational four-year college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the Pakistan Air Force...
Risalpur
Risalpur
Risalpur is a city in Nowshera District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on the Nowshera-Mardan Road. It is nearly 45 km from Peshawar and 15 km from Mardan and is located at 34°4'52N 71°58'21E. In a basin some 1014 feet above sea level, it is bounded on the south and west by the Kabul and...
. A career fighter pilot, Mehdi took part in and participated in Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947...
.
He was posted to then East Pakistan
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
where he took part in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
as a young flight lieutenant (Captain). While attacking enemy ground units during a close air support
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
mission, his group of three F-86 Sabre
F-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War...
fighters were attacked by four Indian Folland Gnat
Folland Gnat
The Folland Gnat was a small, swept-wing British subsonic jet trainer and light fighter aircraft developed by Folland Aircraft for the Royal Air Force, and flown extensively by the Indian Air Force....
s. According to a Bangladeshi source, Qureshi's group was at a significant disadvantage because there were no radars in East Pakistan to warn them, whereas the attacking Indian fighters were directed by Indian radar controllers at Barrackpore. Qureshi was shot down and taken Prisoner of War
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
, later being released to Pakistan.
After returning to Pakistan, Qureshi steadily rose to command No. 9 Squadron and then led the strategically important Sargodha Air Force Base
Sargodha Airbase
PAF Base Mushaf is a Pakistan Air Force airbase located at Sargodha in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the headquarters of the PAF Central Air Command....
. He was then given the command of Southern Air Command (SAC). This command features considerable interaction amongst the three services. He was then made Air Officer Commanding Air Defence Command (ADC).
His staff appointments included Senior Air Staff Officer, Southern Air Command, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operations) and the all-important Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Operations) at the Air Headquarters (AHQ), in charge of all the operations and plans of the air force. This succeeded with the posting as vice chief of air staff (VCAS) and finally as the head of all the air force as Chief of Air Staff (CAS)
Chief of Air Staff (Pakistan)
The Chief of the Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force, abbreviated as CAS, is typically the highest ranking 4-star rank officer in the Pakistan Air Force, unless a four-star officer is appointed as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. The CAS is a senior and permanent member of the...
. He took over the command from the retiring Air Chief Marshal Abbas Khattak
Abbas Khattak
Air Chief Marshal Abbas Khattak, NI, SBt, , is a retired four-star general and air-force officer in the Pakistan Air Force who served as the 14th Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force from 8 November 1994 to 7 November 1997...
in November 1997.
Known to have an imposing personality, Qureshi warned the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
during the Kargil War that any intervention by the Air Force into disputed land of Indian-Occupied Kashmir would be perceived as an escalation to all-out war. According to Air Cdre Kaiser Tufail, "Qureshi’s rather straight-faced and forthright dealings with a somewhat junior General Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
particularly during Kargil conflict was a good reason to believe that the latter decided to appoint a not-very-senior Air Chief whom he could order around like one of his Corps Commanders." (Musharraf after assuming control as the Chief Executive superseded five senior Air Marshals and appointed a sixth-in-line to the post of CAS once Qureshi was due for retirement).
Mehdi is a qualified flying instructor who has also done Staff Course from PAF Staff College and Armed Forces War Course from National Defence College
National Defence University, Islamabad
The National Defense University is an institution of higher education funded by the Ministry of Defence of Government of Pakistan, intended to facilitate high-level training, education, and the development of national security strategy...
, Rawalpindi.