Abdul Rahim Khan

Abdul Rahim Khan
عبدالرحیم خان
Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Air Force
In office September 1, 1969 – March 2, 1972
President	Yahya Khan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Vice President	Nurul Amin
Preceded by	Nur Khan
Succeeded by	Zafar Chaudhry
Ambassador of Pakistan to Spain
In office 11 May 1972 – 13 April 1977
Personal details
Born	Abdul Rahim Khan (1925-10-25)October 25, 1925
Died	February 28, 1990(1990-02-28) (aged 64) Potomac, Maryland, United States
Citizenship	British Subject (1925–1947) Pakistan (1947–1990)
Civilian awards	Hilal-i-Quaid-e-Azam Sitara-e-Pakistan
Military service
Nickname(s)	A.R. Khan
Service/branch	Indian Air Force (1944–1947)  Pakistan Air Force (1947–1972)
Years of service	1944–72
Rank	Air Marshal
Unit	No. 7 Squadron Bandits
Commands	ACAS (Operations), AHQ AOC Mauripur Air Force Base PAF Staff College
Battles/wars	Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Aerial Operations in 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Operation Chengiz Khan 1971 East-Pakistan Air Strikes
Military awards	Hilal-i-Jurat Sitara-e-Basalat

Air Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan, (Urdu: عبدالرحیم خان ‎; October 25, 1925 – February 28, 1990) HJ, S.Pk, RIAF, PAF was a three-star rank air marshal who served as the last Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Air Force from 1969 until 1972.

In 1972, Khan was dismissed from the his military service by the Judge Advocate General and relieved from the command of the Air Force over the allegations of obstructing the hearings of the Hamoodur Rahman Commission. He was terminated alongside with the Pakistan Army's Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant-General Gul Hassan and Pakistan Navy's Commander-in-Chief Vice-Admiral Muzaffar Hassan. Upon succeeding by Air Chief Marshal Zafar Chaudhry as first Chief of Air Staff of Pakistan Air Force, he joined the Foreign Service and briefly served as Pakistan Ambassador to Spain till 1977.

Air Force career

Abdur Rahim Khan was commissioned in the British Indian Air Force on 5 June 1944. During his post independence service in the PAF, he was the first commander of its only jet squadron, No. 11 Squadron, and No. 9 Squadron. He became a member of MACH Buster's Club by breaking the sound barrier in United States of America, he was the first Asian to have achieved this honor. In later years he commanded Mauripur base as well as the PAF Staff College and held appointments Director of Plans and Director of Operations as well as ACAS (Operations) and later, ACAS (Administration) at the Air Headquarters. In between, he also qualified courses at the RAF Staff College, Andover and the Imperial Defence College in London.

Relations with China

During his tenure he visited China due to the military co-operation between the two nations.^[1] He was awarded the Hilal-i-Jurat for his command in 1971 Indo-Pakistani war.

Personal life

Rahim Khan was married to Princess Mehrunissa Khan,^[2] the only child of the beloved but unofficial third queen of the Nawab of Rampur. They got married in London when Rahim Khan was a group captain.^[3]

Envoy of Pakistan to Spain

Air Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan was sent as an Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to Spain on May 11, 1972. Lieutenant General Gul Hassan Khan as well was sent as Ambassador to Austria. Air Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan served as Ambassador until April 13, 1977, when he again resigned in protest against the rigging of elections in Pakistan by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto the Prime Minister of Pakistan and his party the Pakistan People's Party. Hence after Air Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan decided to settle down in United States of America. He lived in Potomac, Maryland until he died of renal failure on February 28, 1990.

References

External links

• Bio of Air Marshal A Rahim Khan

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