| Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | PQ Mehdi |
| Born | October 1, 1943 |
| Allegiance | Pakistan |
| Service/branch | Pakistan Air Force |
| Years of service | 1964 – 2000 |
| Rank | Air Chief Marshal (General) |
| Unit | No. 16 Squadron Black Panthers |
| Commands held | No. 9 Squadron Griffins CO PAF Base Sargodha Southern Air Command AOC Air Defence Command Assistant Chief of Air Staff Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Ops) Vice Chief of Air Staff Chief of Air Staff |
| Battles/wars | Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Soviet war in Afghanistan Indo-Pakistani War of 1999 |
| Awards | Sword of Honor Sitara-e-Basalat Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Military) Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) |
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.
P Q Mehdi was commissioned as a fighter pilot 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 Gnats. 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.[1] 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.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Abbas Khattak |
Chief of Air Staff 1997 – 2000 |
Succeeded by Mushaf Ali Mir |