Hakeemullah Khan Durrani
Hakimullah Khan Durrani , best known as Hakimullah, is a retired four-star air officer who briefly tenured as the 5th Chief of Air Staff of Pakistan Air Force, appointed in this post from 9 March 1988 until retiring on 8 March 1991.Biography
Hakimullah was born in NWFP in India on 15 October 1935 into a Pashtun family.
After matriculating from the Edwardes College in Peshawar, he joined in the Pakistan Air Force in 1956, passing out in 1957 where he gained commissioned as a Pilot Officer. Further training took place in the United States where Flying Officer qualified to fly the F-104 Starfighter and participated in the second war with India in 1965. Flight-Lieutenant Hakimullah, with speed of Mach 1.1, notably intercepted the Indian Air Force's Folland Gnat flown by then-Flight lieutenant Brijpal Singh Sikand, who was forced to land near at the airstrip in Pasrur, Pakistan. This claim, however, has been contested by India. In 1971, Wing-Commander Hakimullah flew Mirage-IIIA in the western front of the third war with India, seeing aerial actions against the MiG-21.
In 1981, Air-Cdre. Hakim was appointed as Project-Director of Project Falcon, overseeing the acquisition of F-16s in the air force. In 1986-87, AVM Hakim served in the Air AHQ as its Chief of Staff under Chief of Air Staff. In 1988, Air-Mshl. Hakimullah was elevated as the DCAS but was later elevated to the four-star rank promotion.
At promotion, Air Chief Marshal Hakimullah superseded at least one senior air officer, Air Marshal Shabbir Hussain Syed, the then-Vice Chief of Air Staff.
In 1991, ACM Hakimullah eventually completed his tenure and retired in 1994 where he settled in Islamabad.
