The XII Corps, also known as Quetta Corps is a

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

of the Pakistan Army currently stationed in

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of th ...

, Balochistan Province.

History

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 created for Pakistan a real security threat on the western borders for the first time in its history. As a result, two new corps were raised to guard the western borders. These were the

XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * XI ...

in Peshawar, and the XII Corps, with the responsibility of guarding the

Bolan Pass Bolān Pass ( ur, ) is a valley and a natural gateway, through the Toba Kakar range in Balochistan province of Pakistan, south of the Afghanistan border. The pass is an stretch of the Bolan river valley from Rindli in the south to Darwāza n ...

. The formation spent the first few years of its history guarding against Soviet expansionism. The end of the Cold War and the ending of the Soviet threat led the formation into a new era. It would lose divisions and brigades to the western border. Notably, 40 infantry division would be moved to OkaraXII Corps
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War on Terrorism

The war on terror began and once again the corps began to undertake duty on the western borders, catching and neutralising

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...

and

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

operatives, although it has not been involved to such an extent as the XI Corps. The operations continue to this day.

2001–2002 Standoff

The formation would in early 2002 be moved to the eastern border for the first time in its history as the threat of war with India loomed. The corps' purpose was to provide reinforcement to V Corps in the Thar desert. It would return to Quetta in 2004 just in time to face a new challenge.

Baloch Rebellion

In 2004, the

Balochistan conflict The Insurgency in Balochistan is an insurgency or revolt by Baloch nationalists against the governments of Pakistan and Iran in the Balochistan region, which covers the Balochistan Province in southwestern Pakistan, Sistan and Baluchestan Pro ...

restarted. The formation was involved in putting down the insurrection in collaboration with local security forces, and by 2006, with the killing of

Akbar Bugti Nawab Akbar Shahbaz Khan Bugti ( Balochi, Urdu: ; 12 July 1927 – 26 August 2006) was a Pakistani politician and the Tumandar (head) of the Bugti tribe of Baloch people who served as the Minister of State for Interior and Governor of Baloc ...

, the rebellion was more or less suppressed.

Structure

The formations composition has changed on several occasions in the past, and like all formations on the western border it has received reinforcements for the War on Terror. However, its present composition is thought to be:

List of Commanders XII Corps

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xii Corps (Pakistan) Corps of the Pakistan Army Military units and formations established in 1984 Military in Balochistan, Pakistan