Pakistan Army

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Pakistan Army

Leadership Chief of Army Staff Organisation and Components Structure of the Pakistan Army Frontier Force Regiment Special Service Group Installations Rawalpindi Pakistan Military Academy Command and Staff College National Defence University History and Traditions Military history of Pakistan UN Peacekeeping Missions Awards, Decorations and Badges Awards and Decorations Nishan-e-Haider

The Pakistan Army (Urdu: پاک فوج) is the largest branch of the Pakistan military, and is mainly responsible for protection of the state borders, the security of administered territories and defending the national interests of Pakistan within the framework of its international obligations.

The Pakistan Army, combined with the Navy and Air Force, makes Pakistan's armed forces the seventh largest military in the world. The Army is modelled on the United Kingdom armed forces^{[citation needed]} and came into existence after the independence in 1947. It has an active force of 619,000 personnel and 528,000 men in reserve that continue to serve until the age of 45 and several other groups functioning under its many umbrella organisations. The Pakistani Army is a volunteer force and has been involved in many conflicts with India. Combined with this rich combat experience, the Army is also actively involved in contributing to United Nations peacekeeping efforts. Other foreign deployments have consisted of Pakistani Army personnel as advisers in many African, South Asian and Arab countries. The Pakistani Army maintained division and brigade strength presences in some of the Arab countries during the past Arab-Israeli Wars, and the first Gulf War to help the Coalition. The Pakistani Army is led by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani the Chief of Army Staff, who replaced Pervez Musharraf

Contents [hide] 1 Combat Doctrine 2 Motto 3 Organization 3.1 List of Chiefs of Army Staff 3.2 Structure of Army units 3.3 Regiments 3.4 Corps 4 History of the Pakistan Army 4.1 1947 - 1958 4.2 1958 - 1969 4.3 1969 - 1977 4.4 1977 - 1999 4.5 1999 - Present 5 Pakistan Army Role in Peacekeeping 5.1 Pakistan Contribution in UN Peace Keeping Missions 6 Political Power of the Army 6.1 Fauji Foundation 7 Personnel Training 7.1 Enlisted ranks 7.2 Officer Ranks 8 Relief Operations and Economic Development 9 Women and Minorities in the Army 10 Rank Structure and Uniform Insignia 11 Awards for Valor 12 Special Forces 13 Weapons and Equipment 13.1 Small Arms 13.2 Mortars 13.3 Anti-tank Guided Weapons 13.4 Army Air Defence 14 Missiles 15 Future Plans 16 See also 17 Notes 18 References 19 Further reading 20 External links

[edit] Combat Doctrine

Pakistani army soldier during an exercise.

Pakistan Army has a doctrine of limited "offensive-defense" which it has tried to refine consistently ever since 1989 when it was pushed out to the formations during "Exercise Zarb-e-Momin". The main purpose of this strategy is to launch a sizeable offensive into enemy territory rather than wait to be hit from the enemy's offensive attack. The doctrine is based on the premise that while on the offensive, the enemy can be kept off-balance while allowing Pakistani Army to be able to seize enemy territory of strategic importance which can be used as a bargaining chip on the negotiating table. In order to do this, currently Pakistani Army maintains two sizable Strike Corps which will be backed up by Defensive Corps forming the defensive tier behind the strike corps. By pushing the offensive into the enemy territory, the Pakistani Army hopes to consolidate its gains inside the enemy's territory and will attempt to keep the enemy on the its side of the border rather than giving ground on the Pakistani side.

In the 1990s, the Army created a strong centralized corps of reserves for its formations in the critical semi-desert and desert sectors in southern Punjab and Sindh provinces. These new formations were rapidly equipped with assets needed for mechanized capability. These reserve formations are dual-capable, meaning they can be used for offensive as well as defensive (holding) purposes.

[edit] Motto

The motto of the Pakistani Army reads: "Iman, Taqwa, Jihad fi Sabilillah". Translated into English, it means "Faith, Piety, to strive in the path of Allah".

[edit] Organization

Main article: Structure of the Pakistan Army

From left, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and Rear Adm. Scott Van Buskirk, commander of Carrier Strike Group 9, speak with Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army Gen. Ashfaq Kayani and Pakistani Maj. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha, director general of military operations, on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) while under way in the North Arabian Sea Aug. 27, 2008.

The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), formerly called the Commander in Chief (C in C), is challenged with the responsibility of commanding the Pakistani Army. The COAS operates from army headquarters in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. The Principal Staff Officers (PSO's) assisting him in his duties at the Lieutenant General level include a Chief of General Staff (CGS), under whom the Military Operations and Intelligence Directorates function; the Chief of Logistics Staff (CLS); the Adjutant General (AG); the Quarter-Master General (QMG); the Inspector General of Training and Evaluation (IGT&E); and the Military Secretary (MS). A major reorganization in GHQ was done in September 2008 under General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, when two new PSO positions were introduced: the Inspector General Arms and the Inspector General Communications and IT, thus raising the number of PSO's to eight.^[1]

The headquarters function also includes the Judge Advocate General (JAG), and the Comptroller of Civilian Personnel, the Chief of the Corps of Engineers (E-in-C) who is also head of Military Engineering Service (MES), all of them also report to the Chief of the Army Staff.

[edit] List of Chiefs of Army Staff

Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army

1. General Sir Frank Messervy (August 15, 1947 - February 10, 1948)
   
2. General Sir Douglas Gracey (February 11, 1948 - January 16, 1951)
   
3. Field Marshal Ayub Khan (January 16, 1951 - October 26, 1958)
   
4. General Musa Khan (October 27, 1958 - June 17, 1966)
   
5. General Yahya Khan (June 18, 1966 – December 20, 1971)
   
6. General Gul Hassan (December 20, 1971 - March 3, 1972)
   
7. General Tikka Khan (March 3, 1972 – March 1, 1976)
   
8. General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (April 1, 1976 - August 17, 1988)
   
9. General Mirza Aslam Beg (August 17, 1988 - August 16, 1991)
   
10. General Asif Nawaz (August 16, 1991 - January 8, 1993)
    
11. General Wahid Kakar (January 8, 1993 - January 12, 1996)
    
12. General Jehangir Karamat (January 12, 1996 - October 6, 1998)
    
13. General Pervez Musharraf (October 7, 1998 - November 28, 2007)
    
14. General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (November 28, 2007 - present)

[edit] Structure of Army units

M109A6 "Paladin" firing at night.

Pakistan Army aviation squadron's Mi-17 helicopter at the Skardu Airport.

Bell 206L

The Pakistani Army is divided into two main branches, which are Arms and Services. Arms include:

• Army Infantry Regiments
  
• Regiment of Artillery
  
• Armoured Corps Regiments
  
• Regiment of Air Defence
  
• Corps of Engineers
  
• Army Medical Corps
  
• Corps of Signals
  
• Army Aviation Corps
  
• Defence Security Group (DSG)

And Services include:

• Army Ordnance Corps
  
• Corps of Electrical & Mechanical Engineering (EME)
  
• Army Supply & Transport Corps (ASC)

[edit] Regiments

Infantry: Frontier Force (FF) Punjab Sindh Baloch Azad Kashmir (AK) Northern Light Infantry (NLI) The President's Bodyguard Armour 4th Cavalry 5th Horse 6th Lancers 7th Lancers 8th Cavalry 9th Lancers Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force) 11th Cavalry (Frontier Force) 12th Cavalry (Frontier Force)

13th Lancers(Baloch Regiment) 14th Lancers 15th Lancers 19th Lancers 20th Lancers 22nd Cavalry 23rd Cavalry (Frontier Force) 24th Cavalry (Frontier Force) 25th Cavalry (Frontier Force) 26th Cavalry 27th Cavalry

28th Cavalry 29th Cavalry 30th Cavalry 31st Cavalry 32nd Cavalry 33rd Cavalry 34th Lancers 37th Cavalry 41st Horse (Frontier Force) 52nd Cavalry 53rd Cavalry 54th Cavalry 56th Cavalry 58th Cavalry

*The President's Bodyguard formed at independence from members of the Governor General's Bodyguard, itself successor to the Governor's Troop of Moghals raised in 1773
*5th Horse is the successor to the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry (Wales's Horse), and the 2nd Sikh Irregular Cavalry, both raised in 1857
*6th Lancers is the successor to The Rohilkhand Horse raised in 1857, and the 4th Sikh Irregular Cavalry raised in 1858
*Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force) is the successor to the Corps of Guides raised in 1846
*11th Cavalry (Frontier Force) is the successor to 1st Regiment of Punjab Cavalry and 3rd Regiment of Punjab Cavalry, both raised in 1849
*13th Lancers is the successor to the 1st Native Troop raised in 1804, and the 2nd Native Troop raised in 1816. It is also the senior most armour regiment of the Indian Sub-Continent.
*19th Lancers is the successor to the 2nd Mahratta Horse (Tiwana Horse) raised in 1858, and Fane's Horse raised in 1860
*25th Cavalry (Frontier Force) is the famous unit which stopped Indian armour thrust in Chawinda in 1965
*The Punjab Regiment formed in 1956 from the 1st, 14th, 15th and 16th Punjab Regiments; can be traced back to the 3rd Battalion of Coast Sepoys raised in 1759
*The Baloch Regiment formed in 1956 from the 8th Punjab Regiment, The Baloch Regiment, and The Bahawalpur Regiment; can be traced back to the 3rd Extra Madras Battalion raised in 1798
*The Frontier Force Regiment is the successor to the Frontier Brigade raised in 1846
*The Azad Kashmir Regiment was raised in 1947, became part of the army in 1971
*The Sindh Regiment was raised in 1980 from battalions of the Punjab Regiment and Baloch Regiment
*The Northern Light Infantry was formed in 1977 from various paramilitary units of scouts, became part of the army in 1999 after the Kargil War
*The Special Service Group was formed in 1959 around a cadre from the Baloch Regiment

[edit] Corps

There are 10 Corps including the newly formed strategic corps (2004) located at various garrisons all over Pakistan.

Corps	HQ Location	Major Formations under Corps	Commander
I Corps	Mangla, Azad Kashmir	6th Armoured Division (Kharian), 17th Infantry Division (Kharian), 37th Infantry Division (Gujranwala)	Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmad
II Corps	Multan, Punjab	1st Armoured Division (Multan), 14th Infantry Division (Okara)	Lt Gen Sikandar Afzal[2]
IV Corps	Lahore, Punjab	10th Infantry Division (Lahore), 11th Infantry Division (Lahore)	Lt Gen Ijaz Ahmed Bakhshi[3]
V Corps	Karachi, Sindh	16th Infantry Division (Pano Akil), 18th Infantry Division (Hyderabad), 25th Mechanized Division (Malir)	Lt Gen Shahid Iqbal[1]
X Corps	Rawalpindi, Punjab	Force Command Northern Areas (Gilgit), 12th Infantry Division (Murree), 19th Infantry Division (Mangla), 23rd Infantry Division (Jhelum)	Lt Gen Tahir Mahmood[1]
XI Corps	Peshawar, North West Frontier Province	7th Infantry Division (Peshawar), 9th Infantry Division (Kohat)	Lt Gen Muhammad Masood Aslam
XII Corps	Quetta, Balochistan	33rd Infantry Division (Quetta), 41st Infantry Division (Quetta)	Lt Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne
XXX Corps	Gujranwala, Punjab	8th Infantry Division (Sialkot), 15th Infantry Division (Sialkot)	Lt Gen Nadeem Taj
XXXI Corps	Bahawalpur, Punjab	26th Mechanized Division (Bahawalpur), 35th Infantry Division (Bahawalpur), 40th Infantry Division (Okara)	Lt Gen Muhammad Yousaf[1]
Strategic Corps	Rawalpindi, Punjab	47th Artillery Brigade (Sargodha), others	Lt Gen Syed Absar Hussain[4]