At least six senior Pakistan Air Force officers, retired and serving, are facing court martial proceedings for writing and publishing a detailed White Paper on Corruption in the air force, targeting the Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal, Zaheer Ahmed Baber. The anonymous paper was titled —White Paper: How PAF Is Being Destroyed By Its Chief, Zaheer Ahmed Baber
Among the officers being tried are two key officers of the force, including Deputy Chief of Air Operations, Air Vice Marshal S N Rafiq Chaudhary.
The officers face charges of treason. The air force accuses them of corruption and claims that several vendors in Islamabad and the US have been blacklisted as a result of the investigations.
Those in the know allege that one of the air chief’s brothers too is a vendor and supplies equipment to the air force.
The paper alleged that Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber was appointed to his position despite lacking the necessary qualifications and experience. The paper accused Baber abusing his power to enrich himself and his family, siphoning off billions of rupees in public funds and awarding contracts to companies in exchange for kickbacks.
The document also accuses Baber of obstructing key strategic programs, such as the JF-17 Thunder fighter jet upgrade and the F-16 Falcon modernisation program. Additionally, it claims that Baber has been spying on other officers and promoting cronies to top positions while forcing out qualified individuals.
Baber is due to retire in March this year and is seeking extensions. Experts believe that action against senior serving officers could also be linked to his personal ambition.
The paper became public in November last year on a blog specifically created to publish the paper as well as some details about the terror attack on Mianwali air base by TTP terrorists. Both the stories have since been taken down.
The air force had also issued a notification on the use of social media to suppress any further leaks. The note forbid any serving or retired personnel to share social media inputs with outsiders
.
Although the air force had denied the allegations, frantic effort was made to locate the officers involved in the conspiracy
. At least six retired and serving officers have so far been apprehended are and are facing court martial proceedings.
February 2024
Source: Wajahat S Khan Youtube Channel