Sunday, December 21, 2008

History of the Pakistan Army



[edit] History of the Pakistan Army



See also: Military history of Pakistan


[edit] 1947 - 1958


The Pakistani Army was created on June 30, 1947 with the division of the British Indian Army and Pakistan received six armoured, eight artillery and eight infantry regiments compared to the forty armoured, forty artillery and twenty one infantry regiments that went to India.[5] Fearing that India would take over the disputed region of Kashmir, the newly created Pakistani Army sent in irregulars and tribal groups in 1947 which lead to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. Regular army units joined the invasion later on but were stopped on UK pressure but not before occupying the northwestern part of Kashmir. During the 1950s, the Pakistani Army received large amounts of economic and military aid from United States and Great Britain after signing two Mutual Defense Treaties, Central Treaty Organization, (Cento) also known as the Baghdad Pact and SEATO, (South East Asian Treaty Organization) in 1954. This aid greatly expanded the Army from its modest beginnings.


The sole division HQ that went to Pakistan was the 7th. 8th and 9th Divisions were raised in 1947; 10, 12 and 14 Divs were raised in 1948. 15 Div was raised in 1950. At some point before 1954, 6 Div was raised and 9 Div disbanded. 6 Div was disbanded at some point after 1954 as US assistance was available only for 1 armd and 6 inf divs. 1st Armoured Div was raised in 1956.



[edit] 1958 - 1969


The Army seized control of Pakistan for the first time when General Ayub Khan came to power through a bloodless coup in 1958. Tensions with India continued in the 1960s and a brief border skirmish was fought near the Rann of Kutch area during April 1965, in which the Indian Army was repulsed with moderate casualties. Emboldened, the Pakistan Army leaders carried out Operation Gibraltar, an attempt to take Kashmir, that was launched later in the year, resulting in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. After the Pakistani infiltrators were discovered, India counter-attacked. The 3-week war ended in a U.N. mandated ceasefire culminating in the Tashkent Declaration. However, the military generally considers the 1965 war as a victory over a rival that outnumbered it by almost 3 to 1 in all military aspects. In that regard, the valour of Major Raja Aziz Bhatti of thwarting an entire Indian Brigade planning to break into Lahore and the Battle Of Chawinda are considered to be one of the most courageous feats in the army. At Chawinda the Pakistan Army was vastly outnumbered in terms of personnel and equipment but it is said that victory was achieved when Pakistani East Bengal Regiment soldiers tied bombs to their bellies in order to stop the advancing Indian tanks. An uprising against General Ayub Khan, during 1968 and 1969 resulted in Ayub Khan relinquishing his office as President and Chief of Pakistan Army in favor of General Yahya Khan who assumed power in 1969.


6 Armoured and 11 Infantry Divisions were raised in adhoc form 1964-65. 16, 18 and 23 Divisions were raised at some point between 1966-69; and 9 Division was re-raised in this period.



[edit] 1969 - 1977


During the rule of General Yahya Khan, the Bengalis protested their poor conditions and civil unrest broke out in East Pakistan amidst incidents of massive human rights abuses carried out and genocide by the Pakistani Army and military. India joined the war on the side of Bangladesh following seven months of civil war in November 1971, and on the 16th of December, 1971, over 90,000 Pakistani soldiers and officers surrendered to the Indian forces and Bangladesh became a republic. Consequently, the Pakistan army was modernized at a faster pace than ever before. After the war, General Yahya Khan resigned and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over the reins.



[edit] 1977 - 1999


In 1977 the Pakistan Army took over the government of Pakistan after a coup by General Zia ul-Haq, which saw the end of another democratically elected government leading to the hanging of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, after he was tried and found guilty of conspiracy of murdering a politician named Kasuri. General Zia ul-Haq ruled as a military dictator until his mysterious explosion aircraft death in 1988.


Pakistani army also helped the Saudi Arabian Government in regaining the control of the Kaaba with the help of French Commandos. Pakistani and French security forces retook the Kaaba in a battle which left approximately 250 dead, and 600 wounded. The Pakistanis and French were called in after poor results from assaults by the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG). 127 were reported to have been killed.





Mi-8 During Exercise.




Tail Wings of Pakistani Army's IAR-330 PUMA helicopters

In the mid-1970s the Pakistani Army was involved in fighting an uprising in Balochistan. Various Balochi factions, some with the oblique support of the USSR, wanted independence or at least greater provincial rights. The rebellion was put down but the Army suffered heavy casualties.


With the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the United States began to provide large scale military and economic aid to Pakistan to modernize its conventional military capability and, ostensibly at least, prevent any Soviet attacks on it. This aid was also intended as an incentive for Pakistan to aid guerrilla forces (called "Army of GOD") in Afghanistan. The SSG created a unit called the Black Storks in which SSG commandos were dressed up as Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghan war. They were then flown into Afghanistan and provided the Mujahideen with support. The United States allocated about 40% of its assistance package to non-reimbursable credits for military purchases, the fourth largest program after Israel,Egypt, and Turkey. The remainder of the aid program was devoted to economic assistance.


After the Soviets withdrew by 1989 and the Pakistani Nuclear weapons program nearing maturity, Pakistan was placed under sanctions by USA in 1990. Various weapon systems ordered by Pakistan such as F-16 Jets were not delivered but various amendments have authorized return of spare parts and end items already paid for by Pakistan. There was a period of international sanctions due to Pakistan's nuclear tests. During 1999 the Pakistan Army for the fourth time overthrew a democratically elected government which resulted in additional sanctions being placed against Pakistan


The Army fought a brief but bloody border skirmish with India in Kargil 1999 after the Pakistan Army sent in their para-military NLI troops dressed as mujahiddin. The Indian army responded with immense force, but suffered considerable casualties in assaults on the well entrenched Pakistani positions. There was a danger of the war spiraling out of control when Nawaz Sharif, under immense pressure from Washington, eventually ordered a withdrawal. This decision and the resulting Pakistani casualties created great resentment in the Army against the Prime Minister and is rumored to have contributed to his eventual over throwing by the COAS.


40 and 41 Divs were raised in the 1980s; Two more divs have been raised under the rubric "Corps Reserves" for V and XXXI corps.



[edit] 1999 - Present





Two Pakistani Army AH-1S Cobras at AVN Base,Multan

In October 1999 the Pakistan Army for the fourth time, with popular support, overthrew a democratically elected government which resulted in additional sanctions being placed against Pakistan, resulting in General Pervez Musharraf coming to power in a bloodless coup. Musharraf stepped down as President in August 2008.


Since the 9/11 incident, Pakistan unrecognized Taliban and has become a key ally of the United States in the fight against terrorism. As part of the U.S.'s War on Terrorism, the army has moved over 100,000 troops to the Pakistan-Afghan border to patrol against extreme elements cross border infiltration.


The Pakistan Army commenced operations in Balochistan during 2006, resulting in the killing of the leader of the Balochis, Nawab Akbar Bugti and has resulted in the crushing of a rebellion by the Balochistan Liberation Army.



[edit] Pakistan Army Role in Peacekeeping





UN peacekeepers (from Pakistan) to the DRC in 2005

See also UN peacekeeping missions involving Pakistan


In the wake of the new world power equilibrium a more complex security environment has emerged. It is characterized by growing national power politics and state implosions which have necessitated involvement of the United Nations peace keeping forces for conflict resolution.


The United Nations has been undertaking peace keeping operations since its inception, but the need for employment of peace keeping forces has increased manifold since the Gulf War. In 1992 there were 11000 Blue Berets deployed around the world, by the end of the year the figure rose to 52000. Presently it exceeds a staggering figure of 80,000 troops.





[edit] Pakistan Contribution in UN Peace Keeping Missions



  • UN Operation in Congo (ONUC) 1960-1964
  • UN Security Force in New Guinea, West Irian (UNSF) 1962-1963
  • UN Yemen Observer Mission Yemen (UNYOM) 1963-1964
  • UN Transition Assistance Group in Namibia (UNTAG) 1989-1990
  • UN Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM) 1991-2003
  • UN Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) 1993-1996
  • UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) 1992-1993
  • UN Operations in Somalia (UNOSOM) 1992-1995
  • UN Protection Forces in Bosnia (UNPROFOR) 1992-1995
  • UN Observer Mission for Rawanda (UNAMIR) 1993-1996
  • UN Verification Mission in Angola (UNAVEM III) 1995-1997
  • UN Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia (UNTAES) 1996-1997
  • UN Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP) 1996-2002
  • UN Assistance Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) 2001-2005
  • UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) 1999-to-date
  • UN Mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) 2003-to-date
  • UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) 2003-to-date
  • UN Mission in Ivory Coast (ONUCI) 2004-to-date
  • UN Mission in Burundi (ONUB) 2004-to-date
  • UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) 2005-to-date
  • UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) 1999-to-date

Currently, Pakistan has the most operational army in UN peace keeping missions. Notable are its achievements in DRC and Somalia


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