The X Corps is a corps of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, 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 India, Partition of British India, wh ...

, currently assigned in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

, Punjab Province of Pakistan. It is one of two corps that are currently active in Kashmir. One of its most important brigades, the 111th Infantry Brigade in Rawalpindi, is assigned Presidential Guard duties along with ceremonial duties for foreign dignitaries arriving in Pakistan.The current commander of this corps is Lt. Gen Shahid Imtiaz.

History

The X Corps was raised in 1974 by Lt. General Aftab Ahmad Khan. Headquartered in

, it is responsible for operations in some areas of

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 ...

.X Corps
/ref> Before that, all formations in Kashmir were controlled directly from GHQ. As an ode to Lt. General Aftab Ahmad Khan, the insignia of the X Corps features a Rising Sun or Aftab (in Urdu) with 10 rays extruding from it.

Serving on the Line of Control

In 1974, as today, the Indian and Pakistani forces face each other across the Line of Control (LoC), and there are often exchanges of fire, and sometime full-scale battles. Since 1974, the formation's primary occupation has been to protect Pakistani interests on the LoC.

Siachen conflict

In 1984, the Pakistan Army was involved in a major skirmish with the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

in the northernmost part of the disputed region of

. Under the command of Lt Gen

Zahid Ali Akbar Khan Lieutenant General Zahid Ali Akbar ( ur, ; b. 1933) , is a former engineering officer in the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers, who oversaw the civil construction of the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi, and later directing the Engineering Research La ...

, the X Corps was put into action on the highest battlefield in the world.

Kargil War

In 1999, under the command of Lt Gen

Mahmud Ahmed Lieutenant General Mahmud Ahmed ( ur, ; b. 1944) is a retired three-star rank army general in the Pakistan Army who served as the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence from 1999 to 2001. He played a crucial role in sponsorsh ...

, the conflict over Kargil saw the corps enter action, in Kargil itself, and all along the LoC. Over several weeks in June 1999, the entire corps was engaged for the first time in its history. During the fighting, Havildar

Lalak Jan Havaldar Lalak Jan ( ur, ) (April 1967 – July 1999) was a soldier of Pakistan Army belonging to Northern Light Infantry regiment. He was killed in action during the Kargil war. For his bravery, he was awarded Pakistan's highest military gallan ...

, a trooper of the corps would earn the

Nishan-e-Haider Nishan-e-Haider (NH; ), is the highest military gallantry award of Pakistan. The Nishan-e-Haider is awarded posthumously and only to members of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It recognises the highest acts of extraordinary bravery in the face of ...

Structure

X Corps has following units under its operational control:- 5 infantry divisions, 1 infantry brigade, 1 armoured brigade, 1 artillery brigade, 1 signal brigade and 1 engineering brigade.

History

Serving on the Line of Control

Siachen conflict

Kargil War

Structure

List of corps commanders

References

Further reading