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.

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) Abbottabad, 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	Royal 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 Abbottabad, Pakistan of complications from Parkinson's disease at the age of 96.