The 11th Infantry Division is an active formation of the Pakistan Army. It is currently deployed in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

as part of IV Corps, and is responsible for the defence of that city and the surrounding areas. The division was formed just before the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Prior to this, the army chief at the time, General

Muhammad Musa Muhammad Musa Khan (born 28 August 2000) is a Pakistani cricketer. He made his international debut for the Pakistan cricket team in November 2019. Domestic career He made his List A debut for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the 2018–1 ...

, had been calling for raising two new divisions; this was denied by the government citing a benign security environment, the lack of funds and the general reluctance of the US to fund new risings under the foreign military assistance scheme.Orders of Battle - Orders of Battle
After the

1962 Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...

, the Indian army underwent a substantial increase in numbers and capability and, therefore, the Pakistani government reversed its position and the division was raised by utilising reserve GOC,

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Abdul Hamid Khan. The Division was then assigned to the defence of

1965 War

The Division as a whole first went into action at the

Battle of Lahore The Battle of Lahore (Urdu: ; ''Jang-e-Lāhaur'', Hindi: लाहौर की लड़ाई; ''Lāhaur kī laḍ.āī''), also referred to as the Lahore Front, constitutes a series of battles fought in and around the Pakistani city of L ...

, though individual units had seen action already in the

Rann of Kutch The Rann of Kutch (alternately spelled as Kuchchh) is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan. It is located in Gujarat (primarily the Kutch district), India, and in Sindh, Pakistan. It is divided into ...

and in

Operation Grand Slam Operation Grand Slam was a key military operation of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. It refers to a plan drawn up by the Pakistan Army in May 1965 that consisted of an attack on the vital Akhnoor Bridge in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashm ...

. It, along with the 10th Division, successfully withstood the Indian assault towards Lahore, with the 11th fighting in the

Kasur Kasur (Urdu and pa, ; also romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab. The city serves as the headquarters of Kasur District. Kasu ...

region. After this battle, the division was committed to the

Khem Karan Khem Karan is a town and a nagar panchayat, just 56km from Tarn Taran Sahib in Tarn Taran district of Patti tehsil of the Majha region of Indian state of Punjab. It was the site of a major tank battle in 1965. The Battle of Asal Uttar was the ...

offensive, for which the Divisional HQ was given command of the 1st Armoured Division. The two formations successfully managed to capture Khem Karan, though further attacks by the 1st Armoured were checked by the Indians. At the same time as the fighting in Khem Karan, the Indian offensive towards

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

was making progress at the

Battle of Chawinda {{Infobox military conflict , width = 380px , image = File:Sculpture showing Indo-Pak war.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = Sculpture showing the Indo-Pakistani War {{clear {{OSM Location map , co ...

and the 1st Armoured was withdrawn to reinforce the Pakistani forces in that sector. The 11th was forced to fall back to Khem Karan, where it withstood multiple attempts by the Indians to retake the town, however the ceasefire found the division in command of the town and several hundred square kilometres of Indian territory.

1971 War

Six years later, the division once again went into action in the

1971 war The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decemb ...

, and in a repeat of the experience in 1965, the Division crossed the

Radcliffe Line The Radcliffe Line was the boundary demarcated between the Indian and Pakistani portions of the Punjab Province and Bengal Presidency of British India. It was named after Cyril Radcliffe, who, as the joint chairman of the two boundary commissi ...

, the international border, once more. 106 Brigade succeeded in overwhelming the resistance of the Indian 15th Battalion,

Punjab Regiment Punjab Regiment may refer to the following existing units: *Punjab Regiment (India) *Punjab Regiment (Pakistan) From 1922 to 1947, the British Indian Army included 6 numbered Punjab Regiments: *1st Punjab Regiment * 2nd Punjab Regiment *8th Punj ...

(35 Infantry Brigade, 14th Infantry Division of India) to take significant ground near

Hussainiwala Hussainiwala is a village near Firozpur city in Firozpur district in Punjab state, India. It lies near the bank of the Sutlej river. The village is on the border with Pakistan, opposite the Pakistani village of Ganda Singh Wala. It is a border ...

, thereby controlling a key dam and threatening the border town of

Ferozepur Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who died ...

. One of the famous features that the formation captured was the Qaisar-e-Hind Fort.

Present

The division is at present deployed around Lahore and has the following composition:Karl Erickson, PhD; Personal discussions with MG Aamer Riaz, 7 September 2012 *21st Infantry Brigade, Lahore *52nd Infantry Brigade, Lahore *106th Infantry Brigade, Lahore *Artillery Brigade, Lahore *15th Heavy Mechanized Brigade, Lahore

References

External links

A tank belonging to the division advances. '65 War
{{Military of Pakistan Divisions of the Pakistan Army Military units and formations established in 1965