Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed ( Urdu : تنویر محمود احمد ; born 1952 ) is a retired four - star general and a career Air Officer in the Pakistan Air Force who commanded , as the chief of air staff of the Pakistan Air Force , from 2006 to 2009 . He was replaced by Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman as Chief Staff on 18 March 2009 . Initial training and education . Tanvir Ahmed got his initial education in Lahore , and did his high school from PAF Public School Sargodha where he belonged to 15th entry ( 767 – Fury House ) . Thereafter , he joined PAF Academy , Risalpur in 1969 and was commissioned in Pakistan Air Force as a fighter pilot in 15 April 1972 in the 53rd GD ( P ) Course . The air marshal is a graduate of Turkish Air War College and National Defence College , Islamabad from where he did his masters in Strategic Studies . Air Force career . Air Marshal Tanvir is a Qualified Flying Instructor ( QFI ) and a graduate of Combat Commanders School ( CCS ) . He has commanded the CCS Mirage Squadron , No . 38 Wing , PAF Base Sargodha and his alma mater the PAF Academy , Risalpur . He has flown the American F - 86 Sabre and F - 16 Fighting Falcon aircraft and other aircraft of Chinese and French origin in the PAF inventory . The Air Marshal has also served in United Arab Emirates Air Force as a fighter instructor pilot . Staff commands . In staff jobs , the air marshal has served as deputy director in Operations Branch , personal staff officer to two air chiefs , chief project director of F - 16 Project and senior air staff officer at Northern Air Command , Peshawar . At senior staff assignments , the air marshal has the unique distinction of having served as deputy chief of air staff administration and then operations . Before taking over the PAF , he was the vice chief of air staff . He took over as VCAS on 13 October 2003 . Tanvir M . Ahmed was promoted to air vice marshal in January 2000 and to air marshal on 7 August 2002 . Chief of Air Staff . He took over as the 18th Chief of Air Staff ( CAS ) on March 20 , 2006 , when the previous chief completed his three - year term . Among his achievements are the successful induction and upgradation of ex - Libyan Mirage III ' s to make the 27th squadron of the PAF . The air marshal has also introduced a new rank scheme for the Air Force officers , soon after taking over , which exactly mimics the Turkish Air Force rank insignia . Criticism of US Drone Attacks inside Pakistan . Air Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmad has expressed PAF capability to be able to stop US drone attacks inside Pakistan as a violation of Pakistan sovereignty . However , such military actions need approval from the government , before PAF goes on to take such action . Saying at one point : " The decision as to whether or not we want to start a war [ with the US ] will have to be made by the nation and the government . " National Girl Child Day Photograph . Air Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmad appeared in a full - page newspaper advertisement ( see External Links below ) taken out by the government of India ' s Ministry of Women and Child Development to mark the National Girl Child Day . Krishna Tirath , Minister of Women and Child Development , apologized on behalf of her ministry for publishing a photograph of a former Pakistan Air Force chief in a government advertisement and said an inquiry will ascertain who was responsible for it . Ahmed , upon learning of the publication , " . . wasn ' t aware about this [ and felt it was ] an innocent mistake . "