The I Corps, also known as I Strike Corps, of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...

headquartered in Mangla, Azad Kashmir Territory of Pakistan. Known as I Strike Corps, it is one of two strike corps within its ten-manoeuvre Army corps. The I Strike Corps is one of the oldest and major formations of Pakistan Army. Active in

Indo-Pakistan wars Since the Partition of British India in 1947 and subsequent creation of the dominions of India and Pakistan, the two countries have been involved in a number of wars, conflicts, and military standoffs. A long-running dispute over Kashmir a ...

, the I Strike Corps subordinated administrative units played an integral role in

Kargil war The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referre ...

, and also served in current

War in North-West Pakistan The insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also known as the War in North-West Pakistan or Pakistan's war on terror, is an ongoing armed conflict involving Pakistan, and Islamist militant groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jund ...

. Its current Corps-Commander is Lieutenant General Ayman Bilal Safdar .

History

The corps headquarters was raised in

Abbottabad Abbottabad (; Urdu, Punjabi language(HINDKO dialect) آباد, translit=aibṭabād, ) is the capital city of Abbottabad District in the Hazara region of eastern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in Pakistan and fourt ...

in 1958. Lt Gen Azam Khan was its first commander. It was the first Pakistani corps ever to take to the field.

1965 War

During the 1965 war, the corps was one of two corps in action. It commanded all Pakistani troops north of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

and in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

. During this time however, because of the sheer number of formations under its command, (8 divisions), it was found easier to split the formations into corps level task-forces, as a result in the 1965 war it acted essentially as a Field Army.

1971 war

I Corps began the 1971 war with a force of two divisions forward supported by an armoured brigade, holding the

Shakargarh Shakargarh ( ur, ), the capital of Shakargarh Tehsil, is a city in the north-eastern part of Narowal District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It borders Jammu, India to the north and Sialkot to the west Its literacy rate is more than 85% wh ...

salient. 15th Infantry Division was on the left side of the corps' frontage around

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 ...

, 8th Infantry Division on the right east of the Degh Nadi, and 8th Armoured Brigade in support. Further back, but titularly part of the corps, was Pakistan's Army Reserve North of 6th Armoured Division and 17th Infantry Division. India planned a major attack in the sector, managed by

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...

, but when the war broke out, the lead Indian formation, 54th Infantry Division only managed to advance a few kilometres – a total of in two weeks of operations. Meanwhile, while the Indian attacks went on, the reserve formations did little. 6th Armoured Division remained near

Pasrur Pasrur (Punjabi and ur, ), is a city of Sialkot District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is the capital of Pasrur Tehsil and is administratively subdivided into 26 wards of municipal committee Pasrur. It is located at 32°16'0N 7 ...

waiting for orders, while 17th Infantry Division had significant detachments sent off to 23rd Infantry Division on the left and IV Corps on the right. Yet the fighting in Shakargarh, while ultimately successful as the Indian aims were thwarted, resulted in 8th Armoured Brigade's heavy loss of armour and some territory was also lost.Brian Cloughly, ''A History of

'' As a result, its commander, Lt Gen Irshad Khan, was recommended for court martial and dismissal; this was ultimately not carried out.

Structure

The corps has not been in action since 1971, though its subordinate units have served on the

Line of Control The Line of Control (LoC) is a military control line between the Indian and Pakistanicontrolled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir—a line which does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary, but serv ...

and the war on terror, on secondment to other formations. Its ORBAT is:

List of corps commanders

References

External links

*GlobalSecurity.org
Global Security Website about the I Corps
{{Pakistan Army template 1 Military units and formations established in 1957 1957 establishments in Pakistan