Air Marshal M. Ashfaque Arain (Retd)
Advisor to CAS, PAF On CASS Affairs
Professional Experience
Air Marshal (Retd) M Ashfaque Arain is Advisor to Chief of Air Staff, PAF on CASS Affairs at the Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies, Islamabad, Pakistan. He is a graduate of Combat Commanders’ School, PAF Air War College and National Defence University. He holds a Master’s Degree in Defense & Strategic Studies from Air War College (AWC) and a Master’s Degree in War Studies from National Defense University (NDU), Islamabad. In his 41 years of illustrious career as a fighter pilot with Pakistan Air force, the Air Marshal flew various top of the line fighter aircraft with a singular honour of being first PAF pilot to achieve 2000 hours on the F-16 aircraft. During his career, he has served in senior command and staff assignments including command of a fighter squadron, an operational base, Air Adviser Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi, Chief Project director Horizon, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations), Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Plans), Director General Air force Strategic Command (AFSC), Director General Projects, and Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Administration). His specialist areas of research include Emerging Technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Cyber space, Hypersonic weapons and Robotics. The Air Marshal has been decorated with the distinguished awards of, Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (Military), Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Military), Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) and Sitara-i-Basalat.
Events
Publications

Hybrid Warfare and the Way Forward
‘Hybrid’ warfare, as the name implies, is a product having mixed character of two or more elements. Initially, it referred to employment of irregular forces
390 views

Drone Attack in Iran: Implications for Pakistan
Three drones carrying explosives attacked a defence facility in the Iranian city of Isfhahan on Saturday night at around 1130pm. There have been conflicting reports
370 views

Russia-Ukraine Air War: Important Lessons
The Russia-Ukraine War, which started on 24 February 2022, is an example of a major military power fighting a smaller neighbour, supported by the sole
479 views

Countering the Challenge of Terrorism
The end of year 2022 has seen an upsurge in the number of acts of terrorism in the Pakistan. While there was a gradual increase for
720 views

Pakistan’s Internal and External Challenges
Pakistan is facing two serious challenges, one on the internal front and the other at its borders. While these appear to be unrelated, when seen together,
218 views

Time to Stop Reinforcing Failures
The traditional Chinese curse, ‘may you live in interesting times’ apparently a blessing is ironically used to suggest that life is
207 views