Airports Security Force

The Airports Security Force (ASF) (Urdu: جمیعتِ پاسداران برائے تحفظِ طیران گاہ‎) is a federal agency under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation which is responsible for protecting the airports, facilities and the planes (on-ground or in-air) in Pakistan. ASF safeguards the civil aviation industry against unlawful interferences, adopting counter terrorism measures, preventing crime and maintaining law and order within the limits of airports in Pakistan. The current Director General of ASF is Major General Zafar Ul Haq HI(M). The ASF is an 8,945-personnel organisation.[2]

Airports Security Force
ASF Emblem
AbbreviationASF
MottoFirm & Courteous
Agency overview
Formed1976
Employees9,000 [1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionPakistan
Specialist jurisdiction
  • Buildings and other fixed assets.
Operational structure
Agency executive
  • Maj Gen Zafar Ul Haq HI(M), Director General
Parent agencyCabinet Secretariat, Aviation Division, Pakistan
Website
asf.gov.pk
joinasf.gov.pk

The ASF was established in 1976 under the Airports Security Force Act LXXVII of 1975 initially as the Directorate of the Department of Civil Aviation. After the hijacking of a Pakistan International Airlines aeroplane in March 1981, sensing the contradictory requirements of security and facilitation, the Airports Security Force (ASF) was separated, and in December 1983, was placed under the folds of the Ministry of Defence.[3][4]

Later, in 2013 under the umbrella of Cabinet Secretariat, an Aviation Division was created and Airports Security Force (ASF), Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) came under the control of new division. The Aviation Division is headed by the Aviation Secretary of Pakistan. The ASF is mainly responsible for security of airports and aircraft.

Subsidiaries
  • ASF Schools and Colleges
  • ASF Medical Centres
  • ASF Land and Housing
  • ASF Security Pvt Ltd

Directors General (Former Force Commanders)
SrName of DGFromTo
1GP Capt M.Y KhanJuly 1976April 1977
2Brig Saleem ZiaApril 1977July 1977
3Brig Muzaffar Ali KhanJuly 1977January 1980
4Brig Saleem ZiaJanuary 1980October 1981
5Brig Tariq RafiNovember 1981November 1986
6Brig Khawar Latif ButNovember 1986December 1989
7Brig Muneeb Ur Rehman FarooqiDecember 1989December 1992
8Brig Rashid Ali MalikDecember 1992November 1996
9Brig Manzoor Iqbal BangeshNovember 1996March 1999
10Brig Naveed Nasar Khan1 April 19991 July 2002
11Brig Javed Iqbal Sattar27 June 200210 February 2006
12Brig Fiaz Ahmed Satti10 January 200630 March 2009
13Brig Sahir Aslam Butt30 March 20094 July 2011
14Brig Muhammad Azam Tiwana10 January 201129 December 2014
15Maj General Sohail Ahmad Khan, HI(M)September 2014April 2017
16Maj General Ali Abbas HayderMay 201729 September 2018
17Maj General Zafar ul Haq, HI(M)October 2018Continue......§§

References
  1. name="International Institute for Strategic Studies; Hackett, James (ed.) (2020). The Military Balance 2020. London: Routledge. pp. 302. ISBN 9780367466398.}}.
  2. "Dawn Investigations: The shaky foundations of ASF Arabian Vista". Dawn. 5 February 2019.
  3. Pakistan airports on high alert after bomb threat. Sami Zubeiri, Brisbane Times, 26 September 2008
  4. ASF Sky Marshalls: Proving themselves in a man's world, Express Tribune
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.