He was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 1971. He served in this appointment during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
In the rank of Air Marshal, from 1974 to 1978, he served as the Air Officer-in-Charge Administration at Air HQ and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of the Central Air Command and the Maintenance Command. In 1977, Latif was posted as Vice Chief of Air Staff and took over as Chief of Air Staff on 1 September 1978.