Airports Security Force

Airports Security Force
ہوائی اڈے ضامن فورس
Airports Security Force; ہوائی اڈے ضامن فورس
	ASF Emblem
Abbreviation	ASF
Motto	Firm & Courteous
Agency overview
Formed	1976; 48 years ago
Employees	14,560
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	Pakistan
Specialist jurisdiction	Buildings and other fixed assets.;
Operational structure
Agency executive	Maj Gen Adnan Asif Jah Shad, Director General;
Parent agency	Cabinet Secretariat, Aviation Division, Pakistan
Website
	asf.gov.pk ; joinasf.gov.pk

The Airports Security Force (ASF) (Urdu: ہوائی اڈے ضامن فورس)^[2] is a federal airport security force 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 Adnan Asif Jah Shad HI(M).^[3] The ASF is an 14,560-personnel organisation.^[4]

History

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.^[5]^[6]

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.^[7]

Subsidiaries

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

Directors General (Former Force Commanders)

Since inception, ASF has always been headed by officers of Pakistan Armed Forces. Currently Major General ranked officers of Pakistan army heads organization for a term of three years.^[8]

Sr	Name of DG	From	To
1	GP Capt M.Y Khan	July 1976	April 1977
2	Brig Saleem Zia	April 1977	July 1977
3	Brig Muzaffar Ali Khan	July 1977	January 1980
4	Brig Saleem Zia	January 1980	October 1981
5	Brig Tariq Rafi	November 1981	November 1986
6	Brig Khawar Latif But	November 1986	December 1989
7	Brig Muneeb Ur Rehman Farooqui, SI(M)	December 1989	December 1992
8	Brig Rashid Ali Malik	December 1992	November 1996
9	Brig Manzoor Iqbal Bangesh	November 1996	March 1999
10	Brig Naveed Nasar Khan	1 April 1999	1 July 2002
11	Brig Javed Iqbal Sattar	27 June 2002	10 February 2006
12	Brig Fiaz Ahmed Satti	10 January 2006	30 March 2009
13	Brig Sahir Aslam Butt	30 March 2009	4 July 2011
14	Brig Muhammad Azam Tiwana	10 January 2011	29 December 2014
15	Maj General Sohail Ahmad Khan, HI(M)	September 2014	April 2017
16	Maj General Ali Abbas Hayder HI(M), S.BT	May 2017	29 September 2018
17	Maj General Zafar ul Haq, HI(M)	October 2018	23 May 2021
18	Maj General Abid Latif Khan HI(M)	June 2021	Oct 2022
19	Maj General Adnan Asif Jah Shad HI(M)	Nov 2022	Present

References

^ International Institute for Strategic Studies; Hackett, James (ed.) (2020). The Military Balance 2020. London: Routledge. pp. 302. ISBN 9780367466398.
^ "Join ASF". 20 January 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
^ "ASF Pakistan — Message from Director General". www.asf.gov.pk. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
^ "Dawn Investigations: The shaky foundations of ASF Arabian Vista". Dawn. 5 February 2019.
^ Pakistan airports on high alert after bomb threat. Sami Zubeiri, Brisbane Times, 26 September 2008
^ ASF Sky Marshalls: Proving themselves in a man's world, Express Tribune
^ Syed, Baqir Sajjad (7 July 2013). "New order for aviation causes uncertainty". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
^ "ASF Pakistan — Ex DGs". www.asf.gov.pk. Retrieved 16 August 2021.

External links

ASF - Official website: www.asf.gov.pk
Join ASF - Official website: www.joinasf.gov.pk
Official Facebook page
Join ASF

[1] International Institute for Strategic Studies; Hackett, James (ed.) (2020). The Military Balance 2020. London: Routledge. pp. 302. ISBN 9780367466398.

[2] "Join ASF". 20 January 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.

[3] "ASF Pakistan — Message from Director General". www.asf.gov.pk. Retrieved 16 August 2021.

[4] "Dawn Investigations: The shaky foundations of ASF Arabian Vista". Dawn. 5 February 2019.

[5] Pakistan airports on high alert after bomb threat. Sami Zubeiri, Brisbane Times, 26 September 2008

[6] ASF Sky Marshalls: Proving themselves in a man's world, Express Tribune

[7] Syed, Baqir Sajjad (7 July 2013). "New order for aviation causes uncertainty". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 16 August 2021.

[Ex_DGs-8] "ASF Pakistan — Ex DGs". www.asf.gov.pk. Retrieved 16 August 2021.