Military Engineering Service on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
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
The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...
that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result of the 1947 Indian Independence Act of the United Kingdom. According to statistics provided by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in 2021, the Pakistan Army has approximately 560,000 active-duty
Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, the equivalent term is active service.
India
The Indian Armed Forces
The Indian Armed F ...
personnel, supported by the Army Reserve and National Guard. Pakistani citizens can enlist for voluntary military service upon reaching 16 years of age, but cannot be deployed for combat until the age of 18 in accordance with the Constitution of Pakistan
The Constitution of Pakistan ( ur, ), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. Drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with additional assistance from the country's Pakistani political parties, opposition ...
.
The primary objective and constitutional mission of the Pakistan Army is to ensure the national security and national unity of Pakistan by defending it against any form of external aggression or the threat of war. It can also be requisitioned by the Pakistani federal government to respond to internal threats within its borders. During events of national and international calamities and emergencies, it conducts humanitarian rescue operations at home and is an active participant in peacekeeping missions mandated by the United Nations (UN)—most notably playing a major role in rescuing trapped American soldiers who had requested for a quick reaction force during Operation Gothic Serpent in Somalia. Troops from the Pakistan Army also had a relatively strong presence as part of a larger UN and NATO coalition during the Bosnian War
The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
and larger Yugoslav Wars.
The Pakistan Army, a major component of the Pakistani military alongside the Pakistan Navy
ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...
and Pakistan Air Force, is a volunteer force that has seen extensive combat during three major wars with India, several border skirmishes with Afghanistan at the Durand Line as well as a long-running insurgency in the Balochistan region which it has been combatting alongside Iranian security forces since 1948. Since the 1960s, elements of the army have been repeatedly deployed to act in an advisory capacity in the Arab states during the events of the Arab–Israeli wars as well as to aid the United States-led coalition against Iraq during the First Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
. Other notable military operations during the global war on terrorism in the 21st century included: ''Zarb-e-Azb'', ''Black Thunderstorm'', and ''Rah-e-Nijat''.
In violation of its constitutional mandate, it has repeatedly overthrown elected civilian governments, overreaching its protected constitutional mandate to "act in the aid of civilian federal governments when called upon to do so". The army has been involved in enforcing martial law against the federal government with the claim of restoring law and order in the country by dismissing the legislative branch and parliament on multiple occasions in past decades—while maintaining a wider commercial, foreign and political interest in the country. This has led it facing allegations of acting as a state within a state.
The Pakistan Army has a regimental system but is operationally and geographically divided into command zones, with its most basic fields being its various corps. The Pakistani constitution mandates the role of the president of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.commander-in-chief of the Pakistani military. The Pakistan Army is commanded by the
The Pakistan Army came into its modern birth from the division of the 
A major division of the army was overseen by Sir Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi, an Indian
At the time of the
As early as 1953, the Pakistan Army became involved in national politics in a view of restoring the law and order situation when 
From 1961 to 1962, military aid continued to Pakistan from the United States and they established the
. Microsoft Encarta 2008. als
Archived
31 October 2009. Pakistan lost between 200 and 300 tanks during the conflict and India lost approximately 150-190 tanks. However, most neutral assessments agree that India had the upper hand over Pakistan when ceasefire was declared, Quote: Losses were relatively heavy—on the Pakistani side, twenty aircraft, 200 tanks, and 3,800 troops. Pakistan's army had been able to withstand Indian pressure, but a continuation of the fighting would only have led to further losses and ultimate defeat for Pakistan. but the propaganda in Pakistan about the war continued in favor of Pakistan Army. The war was not rationally analysed in Pakistan with most of the blame being heaped on the leadership and little importance given to intelligence failures that persisted until the debacle of the third war with India in 1971. The Indian Army's action was restricted to Punjab region of both sides with Indian Army mainly in fertile Sialkot, Lahore and Kashmir sectors, while Pakistani land gains were primarily in southern deserts opposite
In January 1972, the Bhutto administration formed the POW Commission to investigate the numbers of
The political instability increased in the country when the conservative alliance refused to accept the voting turnout in favor of 
In 1985, the United States approved the military aid package, worth $4.02 billion, to Pakistan when the mujaheddin fighting with the Soviet Union in Afghanistan increased and intensified, with Soviet Army began violating and attacking the insurgents in the tribal areas in Pakistan. In 1986, the tensions with India increased when the Indian Army's standing troops mobilized in combat position in Pakistan's southern frontier with India failing to give notification of exercise to Pakistan prior. In 1987–88, the XXX Corps, headquartered in North of Punjab, and the XXXI Corps, headquartered in South of Punjab, was raised and established to provide defence against the Indian army's mass infiltration.
After the
Chief of Army Staff
Chief of Army Staff or Chief of the Army Staff which is generally abbreviated as COAS is a title commonly used for the appointment held by the most senior staff officer or the chief commander in several nations' armies.
* Chief of Army (Australia ...
, who is by statute a four-star ranking general and a senior member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee appointed by the prime minister and subsequently affirmed by the president. , the current Chief of Army Staff is General Asim Munir, who was appointed to the position on 29 November 2022.
Mission
Its existence and constitutional role are protected by theConstitution of Pakistan
The Constitution of Pakistan ( ur, ), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. Drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with additional assistance from the country's Pakistani political parties, opposition ...
, where its role is to serve as the land-based uniform service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Constitution of Pakistan establishes the principal land warfare
Land warfare or ground warfare is the process of military operations eventuating in combat that takes place predominantly on the battlespace land surface of the planet.
Land warfare is categorized by the use of large numbers of combat personne ...
uniform branch in the Pakistan Armed Forces as its states:
History
Early origins
Division of British Indian Army and the first war with India (1947–52)
The Pakistan Army came into its modern birth from the division of the British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...
that ceased to exist as a result of the partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
that resulted in the creation of Pakistan on 14 August 1947. Before even the partition took place, there were plans ahead of dividing the British Indian Army into different parts based on the religious and ethnic influence on the areas of India.
On 30 June 1947, the War Department of the British administration in India began planning the dividing of the ~400,000 men strong British Indian Army, but that only began few weeks before the partition of India that resulted in violent religious violence in India. The Armed Forces Reconstitution Committee (AFRC) under the chairmanship of British Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Sir Claude Auchinleck had devised the formula to divide the military assets between India and Pakistan with ratio of 2:1, respectively.
A major division of the army was overseen by Sir Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi, an Indian civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
who was influential in making sure that ~260,000 men would be transferred into forming the Indian Army whilst the remaining balance going to Pakistan after the independence act was enacted by the United Kingdom on the night of 14/15 August 1947.
Command and control at all levels of the new army was extremely difficult, as Pakistan had received six armoured, eight artillery and eight infantry regiments compared to the twelve armoured, forty artillery and twenty-one infantry regiments that went to India. In total, the size of the new army was about ~150,000 men strong. To fill the vacancy in the command positions of the new army, around 13,500 military officers
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
from the British Army had to be employed in the Pakistan Army, which was quite a large number, under the command of Lieutenant-General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Frank Messervy
General Sir Frank Walter Messervy, (9 December 1893 – 2 February 1974) was a British Indian Army officer in the First and Second World Wars. Following its independence, he was the first Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army (15 August 1947 ...
, the first commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army.
Eminent fears of India's seizing the control over the state 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 ...
, the armed tribes and the irregular militia entered in the Muslim-majority
The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...
valley of Kashmir to oppose the rule of Hari Singh, a Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
and the ruling Maharaja of Kashmir
The Dogra dynasty of Dogra Rajputs from the Shiwalik Himalayas created Jammu and Kashmir when all dynastic kingdoms in India were being absorbed by the East India Company. Events led the Sikh Empire to recognise Jammu as a vassal state in 1820, ...
, in October 1947. Attempting to maintain his control over the princely state
A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...
, Hari Singh deployed his troops to check on the tribal advances but his troops failed to halt the advancing tribes towards the valley. Eventually, Hari Singh appealed to Louis Mountbatten
Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...
, the Governor-General of India, requesting for the deployment of the Indian Armed Forces but Indian government maintained that the troops could be committed if Hari Singh acceded to India. Hari Singh eventually agreed to concede to the Indian government terms which eventually led to the deployment of the Indian Army 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 ...
– this agreement, however, was contested by Pakistan since the agreement did not include the consent of the Kashmiri people. Sporadic fighting between militia and Indian Army broke out, and units of the Pakistan Army under Maj-Gen. Akbar Khan, eventually joined the militia in their fight against the Indian Army.
Although, it was Lieutenant-General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Sir Frank Messervy
General Sir Frank Walter Messervy, (9 December 1893 – 2 February 1974) was a British Indian Army officer in the First and Second World Wars. Following its independence, he was the first Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army (15 August 1947 ...
who opposed the tribal invasion in a cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan in 1947, later leaving the command of the army in 1947, in a view of that British officers in the Indian and Pakistan Army would be fighting with each other in the war front. It was Lt-Gen. Douglas Gracey who reportedly disobeyed the direct orders from Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...
, the Governor-General of Pakistan
The governor-general of Pakistan ( ur, ) was the representative of the Pakistani monarch in the Dominion of Pakistan, established by the Indian Independence Act 1947. The office of governor-general was abolished when Pakistan became an Islami ...
, for the deployment of the army units and ultimately issued standing orders that refrained the units of Pakistan Army to further participate in the conflict.
By 1948, when it became imperative in Pakistan that India was about to mount a large-scale operation against Pakistan, Gen. Gracey did not object to the deployment of the army units in the conflict against the Indian Army.
This earlier insubordination of Gen. Gracey eventually forced India and Pakistan to reach a compromise through the United Nations' intervention, with Pakistan controlling the Western Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee:
*
*
* and constituting the western portion of the larger K ...
and India controlling the Eastern 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 encompass ...
.
20th Century: Cold war and conflict performances
Reorganization under the United States Army (1952–58)
At the time of the partition
Partition may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive
* Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job
Software
* Partition (database), the division of a ...
of British India, British Field Marshal (United Kingdom)
Field Marshal (FM) has been the highest rank in the British Army since 1736. A five-star rank with NATO code OF-10, it is equivalent to an Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Navy or a Marshal of the Royal Air Fo ...
Sir Claude Auchinleck favored the transfer of the infantry divisions
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mari ...
to the Pakistan Army including the 7th
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube.
As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...
, 8th
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
and 9th
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
.Major Nasir Uddin, Juddhey Juddhey Swadhinata, pp55 In 1948, the British army officers in the Pakistan Army established and raised the 10th
10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, by far the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. It is the first double-digit number. The rea ...
, 12th
12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6.
It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...
, and the 14th
14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15.
In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen".
In mathematics
* 14 is a composite number.
* 14 is a square pyramidal number.
* 14 is a s ...
infantry divisions— with the 14th being established in East Bengal. In 1950, the 15th Infantry Division was raised with the help from the United States Army, followed by the establishment of the 15th Lancers
The 15th Lancers (Baloch) is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 17th Cavalry and the 37th Lancers (Baluch Horse).Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottaba ...
in Sialkot. Dependence on the United States grew furthermore by the Pakistan Army despite it had worrisome concerns to the country's politicians. Between 1950 and 1954, Pakistan Army raised six more armoured regiments under the U.S. Army's guidance: including, 4th Cavalry, 12th Cavalry
The 5th Horse is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was previously known as the 5th King Edward's Own Probyn's Horse, which was a regular cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1921 by the amalgamation of the 11th ...
, 15th Lancers
The 15th Lancers (Baloch) is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 17th Cavalry and the 37th Lancers (Baluch Horse).Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottaba ...
, and 20th Lancers.
After the incident involving Gracey's disobedience, there was a strong belief that a native commander of the Pakistan army should be appointed, which resulted in the Government of Pakistan rejecting the British Army Board
The Army Board is the top single-service management committee of the British Army, and has always been staffed by senior politicians and soldiers. Until 1964 it was known as the Army Council.
Membership of the Board
The composition is as follo ...
's replacement of Gen. Gracey upon his replacement, in 1951. Eventually, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan approved the promotion paper of Maj-Gen. Iftikhar Khan as the first native commander-in-chief, a graduate of the Imperial Defence College in England, but died in an aviation accident en route to Pakistan from the United Kingdom.
After the death of Maj-Gen. Iftikhar, there were four senior major-generals in the army in the race of promotion but the most junior, Maj-Gen. Ayub Khan
Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...
, whose name was not included in the promotion list was elevated to the promotion that resulted in a lobbying provided by Iskandar Mirza, the Defense Secretary
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...
in Ali Khan administration
K, or k, is the eleventh letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''kay'' (pronounced ), plural ''kays''. The letter K u ...
. A tradition of appointment based on favoritism and qualification that is still in practice by the civilian Prime Ministers in Pakistan. Ayub was promoted to the acting rank of full general to command the army as his predecessors Frank Messervy
General Sir Frank Walter Messervy, (9 December 1893 – 2 February 1974) was a British Indian Army officer in the First and Second World Wars. Following its independence, he was the first Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army (15 August 1947 ...
and Douglas Gracey were performing the duty of commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army in the acting rank of general, the neighbouring country India's first commanders-in-chief were same in this context.
The department of the army under General Ayub Khan
Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...
steered the army's needs towards heavy focus and dependence towards the imported hardware acquired from the United States, in spite of acquiring it from the domestic industry, under the Military Assistance Advisory Group attached to Pakistan in 1954–56. In 1953, the 6th Infantry Division was raised and disbanded the 6th Division in 1956 followed by the disbandment of the 9th Infantry Division as the American assistance was available only for one armored and six infantry divisions. During this time, an army combat brigade team was readily made available by Gen. Ayub Khan to deploy to support the American Army's fighting troops in the Korean war.
Working as cabinet minister in Bogra administration, Gen. Ayub's impartiality was greatly questioned by country's politicians and drove Pakistan's defence policy towards the dependence on the United States when the country becoming the party of the CENTO and the SEATO, the U.S. active measures against the expansion of the global communism.
In 1956, the 1st Armored Division in Multan was established, followed by the Special Forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
in Cherat
Cherat (Pashto: چېراټ) is a hill station dating from the 1860s that is located immediately above the villages of Chapri, Saleh Khana, Kotli Kalan and Dak Ismail Khel in the Nowshera District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. Cherat lies 3 ...
under the supervision of the U.S Army's Special Forces. Under Gen. Ayub's control, the army had eradicated the British influence but invited the American expansion and had reorganized the East Bengal Regiment in East Bengal, the Frontier Force Regiment
The Frontier Force Regiment is one of the six infantry regiments of the Pakistan Army. They are popularly known as the ''Piffers'' in reference to their military history as the PIF ( Punjab Irregular Force) of the British Indian Army, or as th ...
in Northern Pakistan, Kashmir Regiment 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 ...
, and Frontier Corps in the Western Pakistan. The order of precedence change from Navy–Army–Air Force to Army–Navy-Air Force, with army being the most senior service branch in the structure of the Pakistani military.
In 1957, the 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 Arm ...
was established and headquarter was located in Punjab. Between 1956 and 1958, the schools of infantry and tactics, artillery, ordnance, armoured, medical, engineering, services, aviation, and several other schools and training centers were established with or without U.S. participation.
Military takeovers in Pakistan and second war with India (1958–1969)
As early as 1953, the Pakistan Army became involved in national politics in a view of restoring the law and order situation when Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
Malik Ghulam, with approval from Prime Minister Khawaja Nazimuddin, dismissed the popularly-mandated state government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
of Chief Minister Mumtaz Daultana
Mian Mumtaz Daulatana ( Punjabi, ur, ), (20 February 1916 – 30 January 1995) was a Pakistani politician and a key supporter of Pakistan Movement in British India. After independence, he served as the second Chief Minister of West Punjab i ...
in Punjab in Pakistan, and declared martial law under Lt-Gen. Azam Khan and Col.
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
Rahimuddin Khan
Rahimuddin Khan (21 July 1926 – 22 August 2022) was a general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 4th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1984 to 1987, after serving as the 7th governor of Balochistan from 1978 to 1984. He als ...
who successfully quelled the religious agitation in Lahore. In 1954, the Pakistan Army's Military Intelligence Corps
The Military Intelligence Corps is the intelligence branch of the United States Army. The primary mission of military intelligence in the United States Army is to provide timely, relevant, accurate, and synchronized intelligence and electronic ...
reportedly sent the intelligence report indicating the rise of communism in East Pakistan during the legislative election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
held in East-Bengal. Within two months of the elections, Prime Minister Mohammad Ali Bogra
Sahibzada Syed Mohammad Ali Chowdhury ( bn, সৈয়দ মোহাম্মদ আলী চৌধুরী; Urdu: سید محمد علی چوہدری), more commonly known as Mohammad Ali Bogra ( bn, মোহাম্মদ আলী ...
, with approval from Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
Malik Ghulam, dismissed another popularly-mandated state government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
of Chief Minister Fazlul Huq in East Bengal in Pakistan, and declared governor's rule under Iskandar Mirza who relied in the Pakistan Army to manage the control and security of the East Bengal at all levels of command. With General Ayub Khan
Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...
becoming the Defense Minister under Ministry of Talents
T, or t, is the twentieth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabe ...
led by Prime Minister Bogra, the involvement of the army in the national politics grew further with the implementation of the controversial One Unit
The One Unit Scheme ( ur, ; bn, এক ইউনিট ব্যবস্থা) was a geopolitical programme launched by the Government of Pakistan led by Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Bogra on 22 November 1954 and passed on 30 September 1955 ...
program, abolishing the status of Four Provinces
4 (four) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is tetraphobia, considered unlucky in many East Asian c ...
, despite the strong protests by the public and the West Pakistan's politicians. Major defense funding and spending was solely focused towards Ayub's army department and the air force department led by Air Marshal Asghar Khan, giving less priority to the national needs for the Navy.
From 1954 to 1958, Ayub Khan was made subjected with receiving multiple service extensions by the civilian Prime Ministers first receiving in 1954 that extended his commission to last till 1958.
The Pakistan Army under Ayub Khan had been less supportive towards the implementation of the first set
''First Set'' is a live album by pianist Cedar Walton recorded in Denmark in 1977 and released on the Danish SteepleChase label.Constitution of Pakistan
The Constitution of Pakistan ( ur, ), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. Drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with additional assistance from the country's Pakistani political parties, opposition ...
that had established the civilian control of the military, and the army went on to completely endorse and support the first martial law in the country imposed by President Iskander Mirza– the army later took control of the power from President Mirza in mere two weeks and installed Ayub Khan as the second President. The subsequent change of command resulted in Gen. Musa Khan Musa Khan may refer to:
* Musa Khan (general) (1908–1991), commander in chief of Pakistan's army
* Musa Khan Ahmadzai (born 1956), governor of Ghazni Province, Afghanistan
* Musa Khan of Bengal, ruler of Bengal from 1599 to 1611
* Muhammad Musa ...
becoming the army commander with Ayub Khan promoting himself as controversial rank of field marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
. In 1969, the Supreme Court reversed its decision and overturned its convictions that called for validation of martial law in 1958.
The army held the referendum and tightly control the political situation through the intelligence agencies, and banned the political activities in the country.
From 1961 to 1962, military aid continued to Pakistan from the United States and they established the 25th Cavalry
The 12th Cavalry Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) is an armoured regiment of Pakistan Army. It was formed in the British Indian army in 1922 by the amalgamation of 22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) and 25th Cavalry (Frontier Force ...
, followed by the 24th Cavalry, 22nd, and 23rd Cavalry. In 1960–61, the Army Special Forces was reportedly involved in taking over the control of the administration of Dir from the Nawab of Dir in Chitral
Chitral ( khw, , lit=field, translit=ćhitrār; ur, , translit=ćitrāl) is situated on the Chitral River in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Chitral District and before that as the capital of Chitral ...
in North-West Frontier Province over the concerns of Afghan meddling in the region. In 1964–65, the border fighting and tensions flared with the Indian Army with a serious incident taking place near the Rann of Kutch, followed by the failed covert action to take control of the Indian-side of Kashmir resulted in a massive retaliation by the Indian Army on 5 August 1965. On the night of 6 September 1965, India opened the front against Pakistan when the Indian Army's mechanized corps
Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force).
As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is disti ...
charged forwards taking over the control of the Pakistan-side of Punjab, almost reaching Lahore. At the time of the conflict in 1965, Pakistan's armory and mechanized units' hardware was imported from the United States including the M4 Sherman, M24 Chaffee
The M24 Chaffee (officially Light Tank, M24) was an American light tank used during the later part of World War II; it was also used in post–World War II conflicts including the Korean War, and by the French in the War in Algeria and the Firs ...
, M36 Jackson, and the M47 and M48 Patton tank
Patton tank may refer to any of a series of tanks used by the United States military from the 1950s to the 1990s, named for General George S. Patton.
Tanks in the series include:
* M46 Patton, a medium tank model operational during the Korean Wa ...
s, equipped with 90 mm guns. In contrast, the Indian Army's armor had outdated in technology with Korean war-usage American M4 Sherman and World War II manufactured British Centurion Tank
The Centurion was the primary British Army main battle tank of the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing ...
, fitted with the French-made CN-75 guns.
In spite of Pakistan enjoying the numerical advantage in tanks and artillery, as well as better equipment overall, the Indian Army successfully penetrated the defences of Pakistan's borderline and successfully conquered around Musharraf, ''In the Line of Fire'', page 45. of Pakistani Punjab
Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...
territory on the outskirts of Lahore.Melville de Mellow (28, November 1965). "Battle of Burki was another outstanding infantry operation". Sainik Samachar. A major tank battle took place in Chawinda, at which the newly established 1st Armoured Division was able to halt the Indian invasion. Eventually, the Indian invasion of Pakistan came to halt when the Indian Army concluded the battle near Burki.William M. Carpenter, David G. Wiencek. Asian security handbook: terrorism and the new security environment. M.E. Sharpe, 2005. .John Keay. India: A History. Grove Press, 2001. . With diplomatic efforts and involvement by the Soviet Union to bring two nation to end the war, the Ayub administration reached a compromise with Shastri ministry in India when both governments signed and ratified the Tashkent Declaration. According to the Library of Congress Country Studies conducted by the Federal Research Division of the United States:
At the time of ceasefire declared, per neutral sources, Indian casualties stood at 3,000 whilst the Pakistani casualties were 3800."Indo-Pakistan Wars". Microsoft Encarta 2008. als
Archived
31 October 2009. Pakistan lost between 200 and 300 tanks during the conflict and India lost approximately 150-190 tanks. However, most neutral assessments agree that India had the upper hand over Pakistan when ceasefire was declared, Quote: Losses were relatively heavy—on the Pakistani side, twenty aircraft, 200 tanks, and 3,800 troops. Pakistan's army had been able to withstand Indian pressure, but a continuation of the fighting would only have led to further losses and ultimate defeat for Pakistan. but the propaganda in Pakistan about the war continued in favor of Pakistan Army. The war was not rationally analysed in Pakistan with most of the blame being heaped on the leadership and little importance given to intelligence failures that persisted until the debacle of the third war with India in 1971. The Indian Army's action was restricted to Punjab region of both sides with Indian Army mainly in fertile Sialkot, Lahore and Kashmir sectors, while Pakistani land gains were primarily in southern deserts opposite
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
and in the Chumb
Chhamb ( pa, ), also known as Iftikharabad ( pa, ), named after Iftikhar Khan Janjua is an area in the southern tip of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. The Chhamb sector consists of many villages, Kherowal, Burejal, Nagial, Paur, Dingawali, Chak Pandit ...
sector near Kashmir in the north.
With the United States' arms embargo on Pakistan over the issue of the war, the army instead turned to the Soviet Union and China for hardware acquisition, and correctly assessed that a lack of infantry played a major role in the failure of Pakistani armour to translate its convincing material and technical superiority into a major operational or strategic success against the Indian Army. Ultimately, the army's high command established the 9th
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
, 16th
16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and .
In English speech, ...
, and 17th
17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number.
Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers.
In mathematics
17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as s ...
infantry divisions in 1966–68. In 1966, the IV Corps was formed and its headquarter was established, and permanently stationed in Lahore, Punjab in Pakistan.
The army remained involved in the nation's civic affairs, and ultimately imposed the second martial law in 1969 when the writ of the constitution was abrogated by then-army commander, Gen. Yahya Khan, who took control of the nation's civic affairs after the resignation of President Ayub Khan, resulted in a massive labor strikes instigated by the Pakistan Peoples Party
The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...
in West and Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people.
The adjective appears in the following proper names:
*Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
*Awami Front, wa ...
in East Pakistan.
In a lawsuit settled by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the legality of the martial law was deemed questionable as the Supreme Court settled the suit by retroactively invalidated the martial law that suspended the Constitution and notably ruled that Yahya Khan's assumption of power was "illegal usurpation". In light of the Supreme Court's judgement, the army held the publicly televised conference when President Yahya Khan announced to hold the nationwide general elections in 1969–70.
Suppression, civil conflict in East Pakistan and Indian invasion (1969–1971)
In 1969, President Yahya Khan decided to make administrative changes in the army by appointing the Gen.Abdul Hamid Khan Abdul Hamid Khan may refer to:
*Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani (1880–1976), nicknamed Red Maulana, leader of his own faction of National Awami Party
* Abdul Hamid Khan Dasti, former Chief Minister of Punjab, Pakistan
* Abdul Hamid Khan (badmin ...
as the Army Chief of Staff (ACOS) of the Pakistan Army, who centralized the chain of command in Rawalpindi in a headquarters known as "High Command". From 1967 to 1969, a series of major military exercises was conducted by infantry units on East Pakistan's border with India. In 1970, the Pakistan army's military mission in Jordan was reportedly involved in tackling and curbing down the Palestinian infiltration in Jordan. In June 1971, the enlistment in the army had allowed the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi to raise and established the 18th infantry division, stationed in Hyderabad, Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
, for the defence of from Rahimyar Khan to Rann of Kutch, and reestationed the 23rd infantry division for defending the Chhamb-Dewa Sector.
In 1971, the II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to:
France
* 2nd Army Corps (France)
* II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...
was established and headquartered in Multan, driven towards defending the mass incursion from the Indian Army. In December 1971, the 33rd infantry division was established from the army reserves of the II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to:
France
* 2nd Army Corps (France)
* II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...
, followed by raising the 37th Infantry Division. The Pakistan Army reportedly helped the Pakistan Navy
ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...
to toward establishing the amphibious branch, the Pakistan Marines, whose battalion was airlifted to East Pakistan along with the 9th Infantry Division. The other battalions of marines were stationed with the army troops in the skirts of Punjab to support the defence in the events of the war with India.
The intervention in East Pakistan further grew when the Operation Searchlight resulted in the overtaking of the government buildings, communication centers, and restricting the politicians opposed to military rule. Within a month, Pakistani national security strategists realized their failure of implementing the plan which had not anticipated civil resistance in East, and the real nature of Indian strategy behind their support of the resistance.
The Yahya administration is widely accused of permitting the army to commit the war crimes against the civilians in East and curbing civil liberties and human rights in Pakistan. The Eastern Command under Lt-Gen. A. A. K. Niazi
Lieutenant General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi (1915 – 1 February 2004) was a Pakistan Army general. During the Bangladesh Liberation War and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he commanded the Pakistani Eastern Command in East Pakistan (now Ba ...
, who had area responsibility of the defending the Eastern Front and had the responsibility to protect, was leveled with accusations of escalating the political violence in the East by the serving military officers, politicians, and journalists in Pakistan. Since the general elections in 1970, the army had detained several key politicians, journalists, peace activists, student unionists, and other members of civil society while curbing the freedoms of movement and speech in Pakistan. In East Pakistan, the unified Eastern Military Command
The Eastern Military Command ( pt, Comando Militar do Leste or CML) is one of eight Military Commands of the Brazilian Army. The Eastern Military Command is responsible for the defence of the states Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo ...
under Lt-Gen. A.A.K. Niazi, began its engagement with the armed militia that had the direct terror support from India in April 1971, and eventually fought against the Indian Army in December 1971. The army, together with marines, launched ground offensives on both fronts but the Indian Army successfully held its ground and initiated well-coordinated ground operations on both fronts, initially capturing of Pakistan's territory; this land gained by India in Azad Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee:
*
*
* and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...
, Punjab and Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
sectors.
Responding to the ultimatum issued on 16 December 1971 by the Indian Army in East, Lt-Gen. Niazi agreed to concede defeat and move towards signing the documented surrender with the Indian Army which effectively and unilaterally ended the armed resistance and led the creation of Bangladesh, only after India's official engagement that lasted 13 days. It was reported that the Eastern Command had surrendered ~93,000–97,000 uniform personnel to Indian Army– the largest surrender in a war by any country after the World War II. Casualties inflicted to army's I Corps, II Corps, and Marines did not sit well with President Yahya Khan who turned over control of the civic government to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto through an executive decree.
Commenting on the defeat, the military observer in the Pakistan Army, Major A.H. Amin, reported that the war strategists in the army had not seriously considered a full-fledged invasion from India until December 1971, because it was presumed that the Indian military would not risk intervention by China or the United States, and the high command failed to realize that the Chinese would be unable to intervene during the winter months of November to December, due to snowbound Himalayan passes, and the Americans had not made any real effort to persuade India against attacking East Pakistan.
Restructuring of armed forces, stability and restoration (1971–1977)
In January 1972, the Bhutto administration formed the POW Commission to investigate the numbers of war prisoners
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
held by the Indian Army while requesting the Supreme Court of Pakistan to investigate the causes of the war failure with India in 1971. The Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
formed the famed War Enquiry Commission (WEC) that identified many failures, fractures, and faults within the institution of the department of the army and submitted recommendations to strengthen the armed forces overall. Under the Yahya administration, the army was highly demoralized and there were unconfirmed reports of mutiny by soldiers against the senior army generals at the Corps garrisons and the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi.
Upon returning from the quick visit in the United States in 1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
, President Bhutto forcefully dishonorably discharge the commission of seven senior army generals, which he called the "army waderas" (lit. '' Warlords''). In 1972, the army leadership under Lt-Gen. Gul Hassan refrained from acting under Bhutto administration's order to tackle the labor strikes in Karachi and to detained the labor union leaders in Karachi, instead advising the federal government to use the Police Department
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...
to take the actions.
On 2 March 1972, President Bhutto dismissed the commission of Lt-Gen. Gul Hassan as the army commander, replacing with Lt-Gen. Tikka Khan who was later promoted to four-star rank and appointed as the first Chief of Army Staff
Chief of Army Staff or Chief of the Army Staff which is generally abbreviated as COAS is a title commonly used for the appointment held by the most senior staff officer or the chief commander in several nations' armies.
* Chief of Army (Australia ...
(COAS). The army under Bhutto administration was reconstructed in its structure, improving its fighting ability, and reorganized with the establishment of the X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to:
France
* 10th Army Corps (France)
* X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
Germany
* X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army
* X ...
in Punjab in 1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
, followed by the V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to:
France
* 5th Army Corps (France)
* V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army ...
in Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
and 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 the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...
in Pakistan in 1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
. The trilateral agreement in India, the Bhutto administration transferred all the war prisoners
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
back to the country but the military struggle to fill in the vacancies and employments due to some suffering from the PTSD and other mental health complications, while others simply did not wanted to serve in the military any longer. Under Bhutto administration, the army engage in self-reliance production and eventually reached to China for establishing the material and metal industries to overcome the material shortage and manufacturing of weapons industry in the country.
In 1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
, the Bhutto administration dismissed the state government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
in Balochistan that resulting in another separatist movement, culminating the series of army actions in largest province of the country that ended in 1977. With the military aid receiving from Iran including the transfer of the Bell AH-1 Cobra
The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a single-engined attack helicopter developed and manufactured by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Bell Helicopter. A member of the prolific Huey family, the AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake.
The A ...
to Aviation Corps, the conflict came to end with the Pakistani government offering the general amnesties to separatists in the 1980s. Over the issue of Baloch conflict, the Pakistani military remained engage in Omani civil war
The Dhofar Rebellion, also known as the Dhofar War or the Omani Civil War, was waged from 1963 to 1976 in the province of Dhofar against the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. The war began with the formation of the Dhofar Liberation Front, a group w ...
in favor of Omani government until the rebels were defeated in 1979. The War Enquiry Commission noted the lack of joint grand strategy between the four-branches of the military during the first
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
, the second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
, and the third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
wars with India, recommending the establishment of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee to maintain strategic military communication between the inter-services and the federal government, that is to be chaired by the appointed Chairman joint chiefs as the government's principal military adviser. In 1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
, the first Chairman joint chiefs was appointed from the army with Gen. Muhammad Shariff
General Muhammad Shariff ( ur, ; 22 February 1921 – 6 August 1999) was a senior Pakistan Army general who was the first Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, serving in this post from 1976 until tendering his resignation in 1977 ov ...
taking over the chairmanship, but resigned a year later. In 1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto controversially superseded at least seven senior army generals to promote Lt-Gen. Zia-ul-Haq to the four-star rank, appointing him the Chief of Army Staff
Chief of Army Staff or Chief of the Army Staff which is generally abbreviated as COAS is a title commonly used for the appointment held by the most senior staff officer or the chief commander in several nations' armies.
* Chief of Army (Australia ...
(COAS) in spite of army recommendations forwarded to the federal government.
In the 1970s, the army's engineering formations, notable the Corps of Engineers, played a crucial role in supporting the clandestine atomic bomb program to reach its parity and feasibility, including the constructions of iron-steel tunnels in the secretive nuclear weapons-testing sites in 1977–78.
PAF and Navy fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...
s voluntarily served in Arab nations' militaries against Israel in the Yom Kippur War (1973). In the 1973 war one of the PAF pilots, Flt. Lt. Sattar Alvi flying a MiG-21 shot down an Israeli Air Force Mirage and was honoured by the Syrian government.
Middle East operations, peacekeeping missions, and covert actions (1977–1999)
The political instability increased in the country when the conservative alliance refused to accept the voting turnout in favor of Pakistan Peoples Party
The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...
(PPP) after the general elections held in 1977. The army, under Gen. Zia-ul-Haq–the army chief, began planning the military takeover of the federal government under Prime Minister Zulfikar Bhutto, eventually leading the coup d'état that suspended the writ of the Constitution amid responding to the call from one of the opposition leader of threatening to call for another civil war. The military interference in civic matters grew further when the martial law was extended for an infinite period despite maintaining that the elections to be held in 90-days prior. At the request from the Saudi monarchy
The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi state (1727–1818), and ...
, the Zia administration deployed the company of the special forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
to end seizure of the Grand Mosque
A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.*
*
*
*
*
*
*
...
in Mecca from Islamists.
The army under President Zia
Zia or ZIA (also spelled Ziya, Ḍiya , Dia or Diya) may refer to:
People
* Zia (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
** A romanization of the Wu ( Shanghainese) pronunciation of the Chinese surname Xie (謝)
...
weakened due to the army officers were needed in running the affairs of civic government and the controversial military courts
Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodie ...
that held trials of the communists, dissidents, and the oppositions of Zia's administration. In 1984–85, Pakistan lost the control of her northern glaciers due to the successful expedition and penetration by the Indian Army, and army had to engage in years long difficult battles with Indian Army to regain their areas from the Indian Army. Concerns over the military officers and army personnel needed to counter the further advances by the Indian Army in Northern fronts in 1984, the martial law was lifted following the referendum that approved Zia's presidency and provided a way of holding the general elections in 1985. The military control the under army administration had successfully stabilized the law and order in Balochistan despite the massive illegal immigration from Afghanistan, and issued the general amnesties to separatists and rebels. To address the Afghan containment and security, the army established the XII Corps 12th Corps, Twelfth Corps, or XII Corps may refer to:
* 12th Army Corps (France)
* XII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps, a unit of the Imperial German Army
* XII (Ro ...
in 1985 that is permanently headquartered in Quetta, that is designed to provide defence against the infiltration by the Afghan National Army
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
* Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
**Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
from Afghanistan.
In 1985, the United States approved the military aid package, worth $4.02 billion, to Pakistan when the mujaheddin fighting with the Soviet Union in Afghanistan increased and intensified, with Soviet Army began violating and attacking the insurgents in the tribal areas in Pakistan. In 1986, the tensions with India increased when the Indian Army's standing troops mobilized in combat position in Pakistan's southern frontier with India failing to give notification of exercise to Pakistan prior. In 1987–88, the XXX Corps, headquartered in North of Punjab, and the XXXI Corps, headquartered in South of Punjab, was raised and established to provide defence against the Indian army's mass infiltration.
After the aviation accident
An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...
that resulted in passing of President Zia in 1988, the army organized the massive military exercise with the Pakistan Air Force to evaluate the technological assessment of the weapon systems and operational readiness. In the 1980s, Pakistan Army remained engage in the affairs of Middle East, first being deployed in Saudi Arabia during the Iran–Iraq War in 1980–1988, and later overseeing operational support measures and combat actions during the Gulf War in 1990–91.
The period from 1991 to 1998 saw the army engaged in professionalism and proved its fighting skills in the Somalian theater (1991–94), Bosnian-Serb War
The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
(on Bosnian side from 1994 to 1998), and the other theaters of the Yugoslav Wars, as part of the United Nation's deployment. In 1998, the army's Corps of Engineers played a crucial role in providing the military administration of preparing the atomic weapon-testing in Balochistan when the air force's bombers flown and airlifted the atomic devices. The controversial relief of Gen. Jehangir Karamat by the Sharif administration reportedly disturbed the balance of the civil-military relations with the junior most Lt-Gen. Pervez Musharraf replacing it as chairman joint chiefs and the army chief in 1999.
In May 1999, the Northern Light Infantry, a paramilitary unit based in Gilgit
Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a h ...
, slipped into Kargil
Kargil ( lbj, ) is a city and a joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, India. It is also the headquarters of the Kargil district. It is the second-largest city in Ladakh after Leh. Kargil is located to the east of Srinagar in Ja ...
that resulted in heavy border fighting with the Indian Army, inflicted with heavy casualties on both sides. The ill-devised plan without meaningful consideration of the outcomes of the border war Border War may refer to:
Military conflicts
*Border War or Bleeding Kansas (1854–1859), a series of violent events involving Free-Staters and pro-slavery elements prior to the American Civil War
*Border War (1910–1919), border conflicts betwee ...
with India, the army under Chairman joint chiefs Gen. Pervez Musharraf (also army chief at that time) failed to its combat performance and suffered with similar outcomes as the previous plan in 1965, with the American military observers in the Pakistan military famously commenting to news channels in Pakistan
This is a list of television channels in Pakistan. Television in Pakistan was introduced in 1964.
Current Channels
General Entertainment Urdu
Punjabi
* Punjab TV
Sindhi
* Awaz TV
* Dharti TV
* Kashish
* KTN
* Sindh TV
Pashto
* AV ...
: Kargil was yet another example of Pakistan's (lack of) grand strategy, repeating the follies of the previous wars with India."
After its commendable performance, the President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Northern Light Infantry as a regular army regiment. Its personnel eventually became officers and enlisted personnel in the army in 1999.
In October 1999, the army engaged in another military takeover of the 
Responding to the 
In 2013–16, the homegrown far-right guerrilla war with the Taliban, Afghan Arabs, and the Central Asian fighters took the decisive turn in favor of the army under Sharif administration, eventually gaining the control of the entire country and established the writ of the constitution in the affected lawless regions. As of its current deployment as of 2019, the army remained engage in border fighting with the Indian Army while deploying its combat strike brigade teams in Saudi Arabia in a response of Saudi intervention in Yemen.
21st Century: War performances
Religious insurgency and War on terror (2001 – present)
In October 1999, the army engaged in another military takeover of the federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
from the Sharif administration when the Army GHQ refused to accept the relief of commission of Gen. Pervez Musharraf over his failure in succeeding the control of Kargil sector from India. This controversial takeover of the federal government was subjected to a lengthy and an expensive lawsuit fought between the lawyers of the department of army and the former Sharif administration at the Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, with the landmark verdict rendered in 2009 ultimately sided and favored the Sharif administration's arguments as the Justices of the Supreme Court accepted the fact that the army's takeover was in fact a direct violation of the constitution and breach of its given constitutional mandate.
Responding to the terror attacks
The following is a list of terrorist incidents that have not been carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are listed at List of assassinated people.
Definitions of terroris ...
in New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
in the United States, the army joined the combat actions in Afghanistan with the United States and simultaneously engage in military standoff with Indian Army in 2001–02. In 2004–06, the military observers from the army were deployed to guide the Sri Lankan army
ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம்
, image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png
, image_size = 180px
, caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army
, start_date ...
to end the civil war with the Tamil fighters.
To overcome the governance crises in 2004–07, the Musharraf administration appointed several army officers in the civilian institutions with some receiving extensions while others were deployed from their combat service– thus affecting the fighting capabilities and weakening the army. Under Gen. Musharraf's leadership, the army's capabilities fighting the fanatic Talibans and Afghan Arab
Afghan Arabs (also known as Arab-Afghans) are Arab and other Muslim Islamist mujahideen who came to Afghanistan during and following the Soviet–Afghan War to help fellow Muslims fight Soviets and pro-Soviet Afghans.
Estimates of the volunt ...
fighters in Pakistan further weakened and suffered serious setbacks in gaining control of the tribal belt that fell under the control of the Afghan Arabs and Uzbek fighters. From 2006 to 2009, the army fought the series of bloody battles with the fanatic Afghan Arabs and other foreign fighters including the army action in a Red Mosque in Islamabad to control the religious fanaticism. With the controversial assassination of Baloch politician in 2006, the army had to engage in battles with the Baloch separatist
__NOTOC__
Baloch nationalism ( Baloch: راج دۏستی بلۏچی) asserts that the Baloch people, an ethnic group native to Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan are a distinct nation, and that their ethnicity overrides religious loyalty. The origins o ...
s fighting for the Balochistan's autonomy.
In April 2007, the major reorganization of the commands of the army was taken place under Gen. Ahsan S. Hyatt, the vice army chief under Gen. Musharraf, establishing the Southern, Central, and the Northern Commands to "improve the operational efficiency and working of its land forces." With Gen. Musharraf's resignation and Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani becoming the army chief, the army realigned itself to review its combat policies and withdrew officers in civilian institutions to focus on its primary constitutional mission to protect and responsible in 2009–14. In 2012, there was a serious accident involving the entire battalion from the Northern Light Infantry when the avalanche struck the battalion base in Siachen, entrapping 135 soldiers and including several army officers.
In 2013–16, the homegrown far-right guerrilla war with the Taliban, Afghan Arabs, and the Central Asian fighters took the decisive turn in favor of the army under Sharif administration, eventually gaining the control of the entire country and established the writ of the constitution in the affected lawless regions. As of its current deployment as of 2019, the army remained engage in border fighting with the Indian Army while deploying its combat strike brigade teams in Saudi Arabia in a response of Saudi intervention in Yemen.
Organization
Command and control structure
Leadership in the army is provided by theMinister of Defense
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
, usually leading and controlling the direction of the department of the army from the Army Secretariat-I at the Ministry of Defense, with the Defense Secretary
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...
who is responsible for the bureaucratic affairs of the army's department. The Constitution empowers the President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Commander-in-Chief while the Prime Minister, an elected civilian, to act as the Chief Executive. The
Prior to August 1947, the British Army's recruiting administration had recruited the enlists from the districts of the
Pakistan is the only Muslim-majority nation which appoints women to general officer ranks, such as Major-General
Chief of Army Staff
Chief of Army Staff or Chief of the Army Staff which is generally abbreviated as COAS is a title commonly used for the appointment held by the most senior staff officer or the chief commander in several nations' armies.
* Chief of Army (Australia ...
, an appointed four-star rank army general, is the highest general officer, under Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Secretary Defense, who acts as the principal military adviser on the expeditionary and land/ ground warfare affairs, and a senior member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee– a military body that advises and briefs the elected Prime Minister and its executive cabinet
A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countries ...
on national security affairs and operational military matters under the Chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
The single combat headquarter, the Army GHQ, is located in Rawalpindi Cantonment
Rawalpindi Cantonment is a large cantonment located in Rawalpindi, Punjab province, Pakistan. The headquarters of the Pakistan Army which are known as the General Headquarters (GHQ) are located in the Rawalpindi cantonment.
Rawalpindi cantonm ...
in Punjab in Pakistan, in the vicinity of the Joint Staff Headquarters. The Chief of Army Staff
Chief of Army Staff or Chief of the Army Staff which is generally abbreviated as COAS is a title commonly used for the appointment held by the most senior staff officer or the chief commander in several nations' armies.
* Chief of Army (Australia ...
controls and commands the army at all levels of operational command, and is assisted the number of Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) who are commissioned at the three-star rank generals.
The military administration under the army chief operating at the Army GHQ including the appointed Principal Staff Officers:
* Chief of General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces ( militaries), the head of the military staff.
List
* Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States)
* Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia)
* Chief of General Staff (Af ...
, under whom the Military Operations and Intelligence Directorates function.
* Chief of Logistics Staff.
* Quartermaster General (QMG).
* Master General of Ordnance (MGO).
* Engineer-in-Chief, the chief army engineer and topographer.
* Judge Advocate General.
* Military Secretary Military Secretary is a post found in the military of several countries:
* Military Secretary (India)
*Military Secretary of Israel, called Military Secretary to the Prime Minister
*Military Secretary (Pakistan)
*Military Secretary (Sri Lanka)
* Mil ...
.
* Comptroller of Civilian Personnel.
In 2008, a major introduction was made in the military bureaucracy at the Army GHQ under Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, when two new PSO positions were introduced: the Inspector-General of Arms and the Inspector-General Communications and IT.
Personnel
Commissioned officers
The commissioned army ranks and insignia authorized in the Pakistan Army are modified and patterned on the British Army's officer ranks and insignia system. There are several paths of becoming the commissioned officer in the army including the admission and required graduation from the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul. To become an officer in the army, the academic four-year college degree is required for the candidates to become officers in the army, and therefore they are designated by insignia unique to their staff community. Selection to the officer candidates is highly competitive with ~320–700 individuals are allowed to enter in the Pakistan Military Academy annually, with a small number of already graduated physicians, specialists, veterinaries and the engineers from the civilian universities are directly recruited in the administrative staff corps such as Medical Corps, Veterinary Corps, Engineering Corps, Dental Corps— and these graduated individuals are the heart of the administrative corps. The product of a highly competitive selection process, members of the staff corps have completed twelve years of education in their respected fields (such as attending the schools and universities), and has to spend two years at the Pakistan Military Academy, with their time divided about equally betweenmilitary training
Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles. Military training may be voluntary or compulsory duty. It begins with recruit training, proceed ...
and academic work to bring them up to a baccalaureate education level, which includes English-language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
skills. The Department of Army also offers employment to civilians in financial management, accountancy, engineering, construction, and administration, and has currently employed 6,500 civilians.
The military officers in the Pakistani military seek retirement between the ages of forty-two and sixty, depending on their ranks, and often seeks employment in the federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
or the private sector where the pay scales are higher as well as the opportunity for gain considerably greater.
Estimations by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) the Pakistan Army's combined strength of the standing army is ~815,000 including the active duty personnels from the Regular Army, Army Reserve, Army National Guard
The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...
, and is additionally supported by the ~70,000 personnel from the Frontier Corps–the military provost under the command of the Pakistan Army as of 2018.
Warrant officers
The Pakistan Army uniquely uses the junior commissioned officer (JCO) ranks, equivalent of the Warrant officers or the Limited duty officers in the United States military, inherited from the formerBritish Indian Army
The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...
introduced by the British Army in India between the enlisted and officer ranks. The JCOs are single-track specialists with their subject of expertise in their particular part of the job and initially appointed (NS1) after risen from their enlisted ranks, receiving the promotion (SM3) from the commanding officer.
The usage of the junior commissioned officer is the continuation of the former Viceroy's commissioned officer rank, and the JCO ranking system benefited the army since there was a large gap existed between the officers and the enlisted personnel at the time of the establishment of the new army in 1947. Over the several years, the JCOs rank system has outlived its usefulness because the educational level of the enlisted personnel has risen and the army has more comfortably adopted the U.S. Army's ranking platform than the British. Promotion to the JCOs/ WO ranks remains a powerful and influential incentive for that enlisted personnel desire not to attend the accredited four-year college.
Enlisted personnel
The recruiting and enlistment in the army is nationwide but the army's recruiting command maintains an ethnic balance, with those who turned away are encourage to join the either the Marines or the Air Force. Most enlisted personnel had come from the poor and rural families with many had only rudimentary literacy skills in the past, but with the increase in the affordable education have risen to the matriculation level (12th Grade). In the past, the army recruits had to re-educate the illiterate personnel while processing them gradually through a paternalistically run regimental training center, teaching the official language, Urdu, if necessary, and given a period of elementary education before their military training actually starts. In the thirty-six-week training period, they develop an attachment to the regiment they will remain with through much of their careers and begin to develop a sense of being a Pakistani rather than primarily a member of a tribe or a village. Enlisted personnel usually serve for eighteen to twenty years, before retiring or gaining a commission, during which they participate in regular military training cycles and have the opportunity to take academic courses to help them advance. The noncommissioned officers (or enlists) wear respective regimental color chevrons on the right sleeve. Center point of the uppermost chevron must remain 10 cm from the point of the shoulder. The Company/battalion appointments wear the appointments badges on the right wrist. Pay scales and incentives are greater and attractive upon enlistment including the allocation of land, free housing, and financial aid to attend the colleges and universities. Retirement age for the enlisted personnel varies and depends on the enlisted ranks that they have attained during their services.Recruitment and training
Prior to August 1947, the British Army's recruiting administration had recruited the enlists from the districts of the Jhelum
Jhelum ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city on the east bank of the Jhelum River, which is located in the district of Jhelum in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 44th largest city of Pakistan by population. Jhelum is known for p ...
, 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 ...
, and Campbellpur
Attock ( Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st larg ...
that dominated the recruitment flows. From 1947 to 1971, the Pakistan Army was predominantly favored to recruit from Punjab and was popular in the country as the "Punjabi Army" because of heavy recruiting interests coming from the rural and poor families of villages in Punjab as well as being the most populous province of Pakistan.
Even as of today, the Pakistan Army's recruiters struggle to enlist citizens and their selfless commitment to the military from the urban areas (i.e. Karachi and Peshawar) where the preference of the college education
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...
is quite popular (especially attending post-graduate schools in the United States and the English-speaking countries) as well as working in the settled private industry
The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government.
Employment
The ...
for lucrative salaries and benefits, while the military enlistment still comes from the most rural and remote areas of Pakistan, where commitment to the military is much greater than in the metropolitan cities.
After 1971, the Bhutto administration introduced the Quota system and drastically reduced the officers and enlists from Punjab and gave strong preference to residents in Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
, Balochistan, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...
, and such policy continue to exists to maintain an ethnic balance in the army. Those who are turned away are strongly encourage to join the Marines Corps or the Air Force.
In 1991, the department of the army drastically reduced the size of personnel from Punjab, downsizing the army personnel to 63%, and issues acceptable medical waivers interested enlists while encouraging citizens of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...
and Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
. This decision has given a fair chance to every citizen of Pakistan to be part of the Pakistan Army as each district possesses a fixed percentage of seats in all branches of the Army, as per census records. By 2003–05, the department of army continued its policy by drastically downsizing the personnel from Punjab to 43–70%.
The Department of Army has relaxed its recruitment and medical standards in Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
and Balochistan where the height requirement of 5 feet 4 inches is considered acceptable even with the enlists educational level at eighth grade is acceptable for the waiver; since the army recruiters take responsibility of providing education to 12th grade to the interested enlists from Balochistan and Sindh. In Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...
where the recruitment is popular, the height requirement remains to be at 5 feet 6 inches with minimum education of 10th grade.
The army has only one bootcamp that is located in Kakul at the Pakistan Military Academy where basic training takes place. Such training usually lasts for two years until the cadets are able to meet their graduation requirements from the Academy. All the recruits, enlists, and officer candidates have to attend and be trained at the PMA regardless of attending the military schools and colleges in other parts of the country.
Duration wise, it is one of the longest boot camps in the country, and the boot camp training continues for two years until the cadet is being able pass out from the academy, before selecting the college to start the career of their choice in the military.
Women and religion in the Pakistan Army
Women have been part of the Pakistan Army since 1947, and currently there are approximately 4,000 women serving in the military. In the years of 1947, '48 and '49, women were inducted into the Women's Guard Section of the National Guard and trained in medical work, welfare, and clerical positions (this was later disbanded). Pakistan Army has a separate cadet course for women which is known as 'Lady Cadet Course', female cadets are trained in Pakistan Military Academy. After induction, women army officers go through a six-month military training at the Pakistan Military Academy like their male counterparts. The comprehensive training includes military education and development of physical efficiency skills. Women wear regular military khaki uniforms.
Pakistan is the only Muslim-majority nation which appoints women to general officer ranks, such as Major-General Shahida Malik
Major-General Shahida Malik (Urdu: شاهدہ ملک; HI(M), SI(M)), was a senior officer of the Pakistan Army who was the former Surgeon-General of the Pakistan Army Medical Corps.
She is the first lady officer in the Pakistan Army to have re ...
, the first woman army officer and military physician by profession who was promoted to a two-star rank. In July 2013, the Army trained female paratrooper officers for the first time. In 2020 Nigar Johar became the first Lieutenant General in the army, she was from the Pakistan Army Medical Corps
The Pakistan Army Medical Corps, Urdu: ﺁرمى مڈيكل كور; ''Army Medical Corps'', abbreviated as the AMC and popularly known as Medical Corps, is a military administrative combatant staff corps, and a primary military medical comman ...
.
The Army recruits from all religions in Pakistan including Hindus, Sikhs
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...
, Zoroastrians, Christians who have held command-level positions. Religious services are provided by the Chaplain Corps for Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, and Zoroastrians.
In 1993, Major-General Julian Peter
Julian Peter (died 1 March 2023) was the first Christian Major General in the Pakistan Army.
Peter lived in Rawalpindi Gawalmandi and he was educated at St Mary's Cambridge School, Murree Road, Rawalpindi.Hercharn Singh became the first Sikh to be commissioned in the army. Between 1947 and 2000, a policy of restricting Hindus prior enlisting in the Pakistan Army was in practice until the policy was reversed by the federal government. In 2006, army recruiters began recruiting Hindus into the army and people of all faith or no faith can be promoted to any rank or commanding position in the army.
The reorganization of the position standing army in 2008, the Pakistan Army now operates six tactical commands, each commanded by the GOC-in-C, with a holding three-star rank:
In events involving the large and massive foreign invasion by the Indian Army charging towards the Pakistan-side Punjab sector, the Pakistan Army maintains the "Pakistan Army Reserves" as a strategic
Since its establishment in 1947, the Pakistan Army has traditionally followed the British
The Pakistan Army has a military division dedicated towards conducting the unconventional and asymmetric warfare operations, established with the guidance provided by the United States Army in 1956. This competitive special operation force is known as the Special Services Group (Army SSG, distinguishing the Navy SSG), and is assembled in eight battalions, commanded by the Lieutenant-Colonel, with addition of three companies commanded by the
In 1947, the Pakistan Army's war strategists developed a combat doctrine which was called " The Riposte", which featured a strategy of "offensive-defense". In 1989, the first and official implementation of this strategy was refined and featured in the major military exercise, Exercise Zab-e-Momin, organized under Lt-Gen. Hamid Gul– this combat doctrine was fully focused in engaging towards its primary adversary, Indian Army.
In 1989–99, the JS HQ, working with the Army GHQ to identify several key factors considering the large conventional attacks from the better equipped and numerically advantage adversary, the Indian Army, derived the combat doctrine to assess the vulnerability of Pakistan where its vast majority of population centers as well as political and military targets lies closer to the international border with India.
The national security strategists explored the controversial idea of
After the failure of the "Offensive-defense" in 1999, the national security institutions engaged in
The Pakistan Army offers wide range of extensive and lucrative careers in the military to young high school graduates and the college degree holders upon enlistment, and Pakistan Army operates the large number of training schools in all over the country. The overall directions and management of the
Army Schools
an
of Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army's training schools are not restricted to the department of the army only but inter-services officers and personnel have been trained and educated as part of the interdepartmental cooperation. The Pakistan Army takes responsibility of providing the military training and education to Pakistan Marines at their School of Infantry and Tactics, and military officers in other branches have attended and qualified psc from the
Established in 1991, the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) has now absorbed and amalgamated the existing military engineering colleges of engineering, signals, aeronautical, and medicines, and is a counterpart institution in
The Pakistan Army has played an integral part in the civil society of Pakistan, almost since its inception. In 1996, General Jehangir Karamat described Pakistan armed forces' relations with the society:
In times of national calamities and natural disasters, including the devastating earthquake in 2005 or the great floods in 2010, the army engineering corps, medical, logistical personnel, and other armed forces services have played a major role in area rehabilitation and reconstruction of cities and towns while distributing the relief goods and military rations to the affected civilians. Since 1948, the army has been involved in providing power generation to affected areas, building dams, and construction of towns and cities, and conducting rescue operations for evacuations of general public and animals from endangerment.
To coordinate and manage the proper relief operations, reconstructions, and rehabilitation, the
. Globalsecurity.org. The Pakistani military has the largest shares in the PSX and has financial stakes in commercial banking, airlines, steel businesses, cement, telecoms, petroleum and energy, education, sports, health care, and even chains of grocery shops and bakeries.
Basketball team named for 11th South Asian Games
, www.nation.com.pk. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
Equipment
The equipment and weapon system of Pakistan Army is developed and manufactured by the local weapons industry and modern arms have been imported fromChina
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, France and other countries in the European Union.
The Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT), Defense Science and Technology Organization (DESTO), Pakistan Ordnance Factories
, type = State-owned company
, industry = Firearms, Defense, Machinery
, fate =
, successor =
, founded =
, founder =
, defunct =
, hq_location_city = Wah Cantonment, Punjab
, hq_location_country = Pakistan
, area_served = worldwi ...
(POF), and the National Development Complex (NDC), Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) are the one of the major defense contractor for the Department of the Pakistan Army.
The Heavy Industries Taxila designs and manufactured main battle tanks (MBT) in cooperation with the China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and the Ukraine, while the fire arms and standard rifles for the army are licensed manufactured by the Pakistan Ordnance Factories
, type = State-owned company
, industry = Firearms, Defense, Machinery
, fate =
, successor =
, founded =
, founder =
, defunct =
, hq_location_city = Wah Cantonment, Punjab
, hq_location_country = Pakistan
, area_served = worldwi ...
(POF). The Chinese cooperation and further assistance with the Pakistan Army is vital in designing, vehicular construction, and material manufacturing of the main battle tanks. The standard rifle for the army is the German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
designed and POF manufactured Koch G3P4.
The defense funding for the army was preferential, which was described as the "lion’s share", however, in light of CPEC's security demanding to secure the seaborne borders, the army financial planners significantly lowered its share in a view of strengthening the under-funded department of the navy.
Uniforms
From 1947 to 1971, thearmy service uniform
The Army Service Uniform (ASU) is a military uniform worn by United States Army personnel in situations where formal dress is called for. It can be worn at most public and official functions. Over history, a number of different non-combat service ...
of the Pakistan Army closely resembled to the army uniform of the British Army, but the uniform changed in preference of Sherwani
Sherwani is a long-sleeved outer coat worn by men in South Asia. Like the Western frock coat it is fitted, with some waist suppression; it falls to below the knees and is buttoned down the front. It can be collarless, have a shirt-style collar, ...
. The army service uniform in the Pakistan Army consists of the Sherwani
Sherwani is a long-sleeved outer coat worn by men in South Asia. Like the Western frock coat it is fitted, with some waist suppression; it falls to below the knees and is buttoned down the front. It can be collarless, have a shirt-style collar, ...
with two front pockets, cap of a synthetic material, trousers with two pockets, with Golden Khaki colors.
In the 1970s, the Ministry of Defense introduced the first camouflage pattern in the army combat uniform, resembling the British-styled DPM but this was changed in 1990 in favor of adopting the U.S. Woodland
The U.S. Woodland is a camouflage pattern that was used as the default camouflage pattern issued to the United States Armed Forces from 1981, with the issue of the Battle Dress Uniform, until its replacement in the mid to late 2000s. It is a four ...
which continued until 2010. In winter front such as in the Siachen and near the Wakhan Corridor, the Pakistan Army personnel wears the heavy winter all white military gear.
As of 2011, the camouflage pattern of the brown and black BDU was issued and is worn by the officers and the army troops in their times of deployments. The Pakistan Army has introduced arid camouflage patterns in uniform and resized qualification badges which are now service ribbons and no longer worn along with the ranks are now embroidered and are on the chest. The name is badged on the right pocket and the left pocket displays achievement badges by Pakistan Army.
Flag of Pakistan is placed over the black embroidered formation sign on the left arm and class course insignias are put up for the Goldish uniform, decorations and awards and the ranks.
Components and structure
Army components and branches
Since its organization that commenced in 1947, the army's functionality is broadly maintained in two main branches: Combat Arms and Administrative Services. From 1947–71, the Pakistan Army had responsibility of maintaining the British-builtForts
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
, till the new and modern garrisons were built in post 1971, and performs the non-combat duties such as engineering and construction.
Currently, the Army's combat services are kept in active-duty personnel and reservists that operate as members of either Reserves and National Guard. In addition, the workforce of the army is supported by the Frontier Corps (a paramilitary) and Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
that performs military police duty within the state governments in Pakistan to help control and manage the law and control situation.
The two main branches of the army, Combat Arms and Administrative Services, also consist of several branches and functional areas that include the army officers
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, junior commissioned (or warrant officers), and the enlisted personnel who are classified from their branches in their uniforms and berets. In Pakistan Army, the careers are not restricted to military officials but are extended to civilian personnel and contractors who can progress in administrative branches of the army.
Command structure
The reorganization of the position standing army in 2008, the Pakistan Army now operates six tactical commands, each commanded by the GOC-in-C, with a holding three-star rank: Lieutenant-General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
. The each of the six tactical commands directly reports to the office of Chief of Army Staff
Chief of Army Staff or Chief of the Army Staff which is generally abbreviated as COAS is a title commonly used for the appointment held by the most senior staff officer or the chief commander in several nations' armies.
* Chief of Army (Australia ...
, operating directly at the Army GHQ. Each command consists of two or more Corps– an army field formation responsible for zone within a command theater.
There are nine active Corps in the Pakistan Army, composing of mixed infantry, mechanized, armored, artillery divisions, while the Air Defense
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
, Aviation, and the Aviation and Special Forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
are organized and maintained in the separate level of their commands.
Established and organized in March 2000, the Army Strategic Forces Command is exercise its authority for responsible training in safety, weapons deployments, and activation of the atomic missile systems.
Combat maneuvering organizations
In events involving the large and massive foreign invasion by the Indian Army charging towards the Pakistan-side Punjab sector, the Pakistan Army maintains the "Pakistan Army Reserves" as a strategic reserve component
The reserve components of the United States Armed Forces are military organizations whose members generally perform a minimum of 39 days of military duty per year and who augment the active duty (or full-time) military when necessary. The reserv ...
for conducting the offense and defense measures against the advancing enemy.
Infantry branch
Since its establishment in 1947, the Pakistan Army has traditionally followed the British regimental system
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
and culture, and currently there are six organized infantry regiments.
In the infantry branch, there are originally six regiments are in fact the administrative military organization that are not combat field formation, and the size of the regiments are vary as their rotation and deployments including assisting the federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
in civic administration.
In each of original six regiments, there are multiple battalions that are associated together to form an infantry regiment and such battalions do not fight together as one formation as they are all deployed over various formations in shape of being part of the brigade combat team
The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic deployable unit of maneuver in the U.S. Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branch maneuver brigade, and its assigned support and fire units. A brigade is normally commanded by a ...
(under a Brigadier), division, or a being part of much larger corps.
After the independence from the Great Britain in 1947, the Pakistan Army begin to follow the U.S. Army's standing formation of their Infantry Branch, having the infantry battalion serving for a time period under a different command zone before being deployed to another command zone, usually in another sector or terrain when its tenure is over.
Special operations forces
The Pakistan Army has a military division dedicated towards conducting the unconventional and asymmetric warfare operations, established with the guidance provided by the United States Army in 1956. This competitive special operation force is known as the Special Services Group (Army SSG, distinguishing the Navy SSG), and is assembled in eight battalions, commanded by the Lieutenant-Colonel, with addition of three companies commanded by the Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
or a Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, depending on the availability.
The special operation forces training school is located in Cherat
Cherat (Pashto: چېراټ) is a hill station dating from the 1860s that is located immediately above the villages of Chapri, Saleh Khana, Kotli Kalan and Dak Ismail Khel in the Nowshera District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. Cherat lies 3 ...
in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...
in Pakistan where the training and education on the philosophy of military arts and tactics take place by the army instructors.
Each battalion in the Pakistan Army Special Forces
, colors = Maroon, sky blue
, colors_label = Colours
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, equipment =
, e ...
is specifically trained for a specific type of operation, and each battalion is a specialist in their nature of conducting the operation. Due to their distinctive service headgear, the Army SSG is colloquially known as the Maroon Berets. In 2000, the Pakistan Army established the Army Strategic Forces Command that is charged with overseeing the operational readiness and various deployment of the Army SSG, Special Forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
, Special Support Group
Special Support Group (SSG) is a unit of Inter-Services of Pakistan Armed Forces, having active since 2009, responsible for the relief and rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) during War on Terror. The Special Support Group is an ...
, Army Rangers, and the Strategic Plans Division Force— the CBRN defense
Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN defence) are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical warfare, chemical, biological warfare, biological, radiological warfare, radiological or nuclear warfare, nucle ...
component of the department of army.
Besides the Army SSG and the Special Forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
(SF), the Pakistan Army has trained a specific Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
team that is especially trained in counter tactics, and is trained for carrying out the difficult counter-terrorism operation involving the civilian hostages in Karachi, and helping the state governments in Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
and Punjab maintaining the law and order situation intact.
Implementing the counterterrorism
Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...
tactics in 2004, the Army has been training the specific Army Ranger company, known as the Rangers Anti-terrorist Force (ATF), along with the Army SSG company, often conduct training with the U.S. Army Ranger
United States Army Rangers, according to the US Army's definition, are personnel, past or present, in any unit that has the official designation "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the US Army Ranger School, even if t ...
in terror and infantry tactics.
Military philosophy
Combat doctrine (1947–2007)
In 1947, the Pakistan Army's war strategists developed a combat doctrine which was called " The Riposte", which featured a strategy of "offensive-defense". In 1989, the first and official implementation of this strategy was refined and featured in the major military exercise, Exercise Zab-e-Momin, organized under Lt-Gen. Hamid Gul– this combat doctrine was fully focused in engaging towards its primary adversary, Indian Army.
In 1989–99, the JS HQ, working with the Army GHQ to identify several key factors considering the large conventional attacks from the better equipped and numerically advantage adversary, the Indian Army, derived the combat doctrine to assess the vulnerability of Pakistan where its vast majority of population centers as well as political and military targets lies closer to the international border with India.
The national security strategists explored the controversial idea of strategic depth
Strategic depth is a term in military literature that broadly refers to the distances between the front lines or battle sectors and the combatants' industrial core areas, capital cities, heartlands, and other key centers of population or milita ...
in form of fomenting friendly foreign relations with Afghanistan and Iran while India substantially enhancing its offensive capabilities designed in its doctrine, the Cold Start Doctrine. Due to the numerical advantage of Indian Army over its small adversary, the Pakistan Army, the Pakistani national security analysts noted that any counterattack on advancing Indian Army would be very tricky and miscalculated– the ideal response of countering the attacks from the Indian ground forces would be operationalizing the battle-ranged Hatf-IA
The Hatf I ( ur, حتف; official codename: Hatf–I) is a tactical battlefield range ballistic missile jointly designed and developed by the Space Research Commission and the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) in 1980s. After its successful t ...
/ Hatf-IB missiles. The Pakistan Army Reserves, supported by the Army National Guard
The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...
, and India's Territorial Army would eventually forward towards the defensive positions and fortifications in less than 24 hours. However, the Corps in both nation's commands with large stockpiles of ordnance will take between 24 and 72 hours to logistically mobilize its combat assets after the orders are authorized; therefore, both nation's armies will be evenly matched in the first 24 hours since the Pakistani units have to travel a shorter distance to their forward positions.
The war doctrine of "offensive-defense" entailed Pakistan not waiting to be attacked but instead launching an offense of its own, with an offense being a limited advance along with narrow fronts aiming towards occupying enemy territory near the border to a depth of 40–50 km. Pakistani national security calculated that since Indian forces will not reach their maximum strength near the border for another 48–72 hours, Pakistan might have parity or numerical superiority against India. Earlier studies in "Offensive-defense" doctrine validated results of finding and keeping the enemy forces off-balance as the Indian Army engage in containing the Pakistan Army forces into its territory rather than concentrating towards launching an attack onto Pakistan's territory. The strategic calculations by Pakistan Army's war strategists hoped that the Pakistan Army's soldiers would keep the Indian Army soldiers engage in fighting on the Indian territory, therefore the collateral damage being suffered by the Indian Army at most. An important aspect in "offensive-defense" doctrine was to seize sizable Indian territory which gives Pakistan an issue to negotiate with India in the aftermath of a ceasefire brought about by international pressure after 3–4 weeks of fighting.
Due to fortification of LoC
LOC, L.O.C., Loc, LoC, or locs may refer to:
Places
* Lóc, a village in Sângeorgiu de Pădure, Mureș County, Romania
* Lócs, a village in Vas county, Hungary
* Line of Contact, meeting place of Western and Eastern Allied forces at the e ...
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 ...
and difficult terrains in Northern Punjab, the Army created the Pakistan Army Reserves in the 1990s that is concentrated in the desert terrain of Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
- Rajasthan sector, The Army Reserve South of the Pakistan Army Reserves is grouped in several powerful field-level corps and designed to provide defensive maneuvers in case of war with the Indian Army.
Threat Matrix (2010 – present)
After the failure of the "Offensive-defense" in 1999, the national security institutions engaged in critical thinking
Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, which generally include the rational, skeptical, and unbiased analysis ...
to evaluate new doctrine that would provide a comprehensive grand strategy against the infiltrating enemy forces, and development began 2010–11 for the new combat doctrine. In 2013, the new combat doctrine, the Threat Matrix
''Threat Matrix'' is an American drama television series created by Daniel Voll that aired on ABC from September 18, 2003 to January 29, 2004 which lasted 16 episodes. The plot consisted of the events in a United States Homeland Security anti-te ...
, was unveiled by the ISPR, that was the first time in its history that the army's national security analysts realized that Pakistan faces a real threat from within, a threat that is concentrated in areas along western borders. The Threat Matrix doctrine analyze the military's comprehensive operational priorities and goes beyond in comprehensively describing both existential and non-existential threats to the country.
Based on that strategy in 2013, the Pakistani military organized a four-tier joint military exercise, code-named: Exercise Azm-e-Nau
Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness.
It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athleti ...
, in which the aim was to update the military's "readiness strategy for dealing with the complex security threat environment." The objective of such exercises is to assess tactics, procedures, and techniques, and explore joint operations strategies involving all three branches of the military: the Army, Air Force, and Navy. In successive years, the Pakistani military combined all the branch-level exercises into joint warfare
Joint warfare is a military doctrine which places priority on the integration of the various service branches of a state's armed forces into one unified command. Joint warfare is in essence a form of combined arms warfare on a larger, national ...
exercises, in which all four branches now participate, regardless of the terrain, platforms, and control of command.
Education and training
Schooling, teachings, and institutions
The Pakistan Army offers wide range of extensive and lucrative careers in the military to young high school graduates and the college degree holders upon enlistment, and Pakistan Army operates the large number of training schools in all over the country. The overall directions and management of the army training schools
The German Army Training Schools (german: Schulen des Heeres) are the training establishments of the German Army, alongside the Army Training Centres (''Zentren des Heeres'').
Command
The training schools are subordinated to the Army Office. ...
are supervised and controlled by the policies devised by the Education Corps, and philosophy on instructions in army schools involves in modern education with combat training.
At the time of its establishment of the Pakistan Army in 1947, the Command and Staff College in Quetta
( ''romanized'': Pir Sho Biyamooz Saadi)English: Grow old, learning Saadi
ur, سیکھتے ہوئے عمر رسیدہ ہو جاؤ، سعدی
, established = (as the ''Army Staff College'' in Deolali, British India)
, closed ...
was inherited to Pakistan, and is the oldest college established during the colonial period in India in 1905
As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...
. The British officers
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
in the Pakistan Army had to established the wide range of schools to provide education and to train the army personnel in order to raise the dedicated and professional army. The wide range of military officers in the Pakistani military were sent to attend the staff colleges in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and Canada who were trained and excelled in courses in armory, infantry, artillery, and ordnance in 1950–1961.
The United States eventually took over the overall training programs in the Pakistan Army under the International Military Education and Training International Military Education and Training (IMET) is the title of a United States security assistance program, a type of student exchange program.
History
Congress established the IMET program in the International Security Assistance and Arms ...
(IMET) but the U.S. coordination with Pakistan varied along with the vicissitudes of the military relations between two countries
''Two Countries'' is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film written by Rafi and directed by Shafi. The film stars Dileep and Mamta Mohandas in the lead roles, with Suraj Venjarammoodu, Mukesh, Aju Varghese and Jagadish appearing ...
. In the 1980s, the army had sent ~200 army officers abroad annually, two-thirds actually decided to attend schooling in the United States but the cessation of the United States' aid to Pakistan led the suspension of the IMET International Military Education and Training (IMET) is the title of a United States security assistance program, a type of student exchange program.
History
Congress established the IMET program in the International Security Assistance and Arms ...
, leading Pakistani military officers to choose the schooling in the United Kingdom.
After the terrorist attacks
The following is a list of terrorist incidents that have not been carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are listed at List of assassinated people.
Definitions of terrori ...
in the United States in 2001, the IMET International Military Education and Training (IMET) is the title of a United States security assistance program, a type of student exchange program.
History
Congress established the IMET program in the International Security Assistance and Arms ...
cooperation was again activated with army officers begin attending the schooling in the United States but the training program was again suspended in 2018 by the Trump administration, leveling accusations on supporting armed Jihadi groups in Afghanistan.
During the reconstruction and reorganization of the armed forces in the 1970s, the army established more training schools as below:
SourcesArmy Schools
an
of Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army's training schools are not restricted to the department of the army only but inter-services officers and personnel have been trained and educated as part of the interdepartmental cooperation. The Pakistan Army takes responsibility of providing the military training and education to Pakistan Marines at their School of Infantry and Tactics, and military officers in other branches have attended and qualified psc from the
Command and Staff College in Quetta
( ''romanized'': Pir Sho Biyamooz Saadi)English: Grow old, learning Saadi
ur, سیکھتے ہوئے عمر رسیدہ ہو جاؤ، سعدی
, established = (as the ''Army Staff College'' in Deolali, British India)
, closed ...
. Officers holding the ranks of captains
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
s, lieutenants
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
and lieutenant-commanders in marines are usually invited to attend the courses at the Command and Staff College in Quetta to be qualified as psc.
Established in 1971, the National Defense University (NDU) in Islamabad is the senior and higher education learning institution that provides the advance critical thinking
Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, which generally include the rational, skeptical, and unbiased analysis ...
level and research-based strategy
Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...
level education to the senior military officers in the Pakistani military. The NDU in Islamabad is a significant institution of higher learning in understanding the institutional norms of military tutelage in Pakistan because it constitutes the "highest learning platform where the military leadership comes together for common instruction", according to thesis written by Pakistani author Aqil Shah. Without securing their graduation
Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...
from their master's program, no officer in the Pakistani military can be promoted as general in the army or air force, or admiral in the navy or marines as it is a prerequisite for their promotion to become a senior member at the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Besides, the platform provided at the NDU in Islamabad represents a radical shift from the emphasis on operational and staff functions and the level of ranks are imposed as a qualification to attend the master's program
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
at the NDU, usually brigadiers, air commodores, and commodores, are invited to given admission in a broad range of strategic, political, social, and economic factors as these factors affect the country's national security. In this sense, the NDU becomes the critical thinking institution as its constitutes active-duty senior military officers corps' baptism into a shared ideological framework about the military's appropriate role, status, and behavior in relation to state and society, and shared values affect how these officers perceive and respond to civilian governmental decisions, policies, and political crises. Admissions to the army's military engineering colleges and NDU is not restricted to military officials but the civilians can also attend and graduate from the NDU, allowing the civilians to explore the broader aspects of national security.
Established in 1991, the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) has now absorbed and amalgamated the existing military engineering colleges of engineering, signals, aeronautical, and medicines, and is a counterpart institution in science and technology
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...
to that of the National Defense University (NDU) in Islamabad.
The foreign military officials and students, including from the United States, have attended the Command and Staff College in Quetta and the National Defense University (NDU) in Islamabad but the American instructors and observers have penned critical analysis by reporting the curriculum offered by the Command and Staff College in Quetta to be narrow focus and failure to encourage speculative thinking or to give adequate attention to less glamorous subjects, such as logistics.
Civil engineering and construction
Since the 1970s, the Pakistan Army's engineering formations have been involved in civil engineering of the important landmarks in the country, hydroelectricity,power generation
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery ( transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its stor ...
, dams, and national freeways.
The Pakistan Army builds major civil engineering landmarks in the country, including the Karakoram Highway, Skardu Airport
Skardu International Airport is an international civil airport in Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It also serves as a forward operating base of the Pakistan Air Force.
On 2 December 2021, Skardu Airport was designated and re-inaugurated a ...
, and the national security sites in Kahuta. The Frontier Works Organization
The Frontier Works Organization ( ur, )); abbreviated as FWO), is a military engineering organization, and one of the major science and technology commands of the Pakistan Army. Commissioned and established in 1966, the FWO includes active duty ...
of the army, has built several infrastructures with the Corps of Engineers all over the country, and has built the communications lines in Northern Pakistan through its Special Communications Organization
The Special Communications Organization (SCO) ( ur, ) is Pakistani public sector organization operated by MoIT&T. SCO plays a role in providing telecommunication services in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan to almost 1.7 million people, a qu ...
(SCO).
The Corps of Engineers are the major civil engineering contractor and engineering consultant employed by the federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
, advising on construction management and on to improving the efficiency of construction measures in times of natural calamities.
The Pakistan Army's landmark civil engineering projects included the Lyari Expressway
Lyari Expressway ( ur, , sd, لیاری بزرگرہ) is a 38 km City Districts of Pakistan, city district Expressways of Pakistan, expressway constructed along the Lyari River in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
History
The expressway was expec ...
in Karachi, Makran Coastal Highway
The N-10 or National Highway 10 (Urdu: ) is a 653 km national highway in Pakistan which extends along Pakistan's Arabian Sea coast from Karachi in Sindh province to Gwadar in Balochistan province. It passes the towns of Ormara and Pasni. ...
in Balochistan, and the Khanpur Dam in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...
. Besides their infrastructure projects in Pakistan, the Pakistan Army has built several infrastructures projects in other parts of the world as part their deployment in United Nation's peacekeeping missions.
UN peacekeeping missions
In the wake of the new world power equilibrium, a more complex security environment has emerged. It is characterized by growing national power politics * UN Operation in Congo ( ONUC) 1960–1964 * UN Security Force in New Guinea, West Irian (UNSF) 1962–1963 (14 Punjab Regiment) * UN Yemen Observer Mission Yemen (UNYOM) 1963–1964 * UN Transition Assistance Group in Namibia (UNTAG) 1989–1990 * UN Iraq–Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM) 1991–2003 * UN Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) 1993–1996 * UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) 1992–1993 * UN Operations in Somalia (UNOSOM) 1992–1995 * UN Protection Forces in Bosnia (UNPROFOR) 1992–1995 * UN Observer Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) 1993–1996 * UN Verification Mission in Angola (UNAVEM III) 1995–1997 * UN Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia (UNTAES) 1996–1997 * UN Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP) 1996–2002 * UN Assistance Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) 2001–2005 * UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) 1999-to-date * UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) 1999-to-date * The total number of Pakistani troops serving in peacekeeping missions is 7,533, as of August 2015, which is one of the biggest number among rest of participants.Involvement in Pakistani society
The Pakistan Army has played an integral part in the civil society of Pakistan, almost since its inception. In 1996, General Jehangir Karamat described Pakistan armed forces' relations with the society:
In times of national calamities and natural disasters, including the devastating earthquake in 2005 or the great floods in 2010, the army engineering corps, medical, logistical personnel, and other armed forces services have played a major role in area rehabilitation and reconstruction of cities and towns while distributing the relief goods and military rations to the affected civilians. Since 1948, the army has been involved in providing power generation to affected areas, building dams, and construction of towns and cities, and conducting rescue operations for evacuations of general public and animals from endangerment.
To coordinate and manage the proper relief operations, reconstructions, and rehabilitation, the federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
appoints the active-duty officers, as an external billets appointments, to lead federal agencies such as ERRA and the NDMA. Besides relief activities in the country, the Pakistan Army has also engaged in other parts of the world such as coordinating and leading the relief efforts in Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
after these countries were affected by the underwater earthquake that resulted in tsunami in 2004.
Corporate and business activities
According to international news agencies and investigations by international financial regulators, the department of the army controls, manages, and runs a large number of business enterprises and conglomerates; their total revenue was estimated to beUS$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
20 billion in 2007–08. One of the largest real estate conglomerates that is run by the army is known as the Defense Housing Authority (DHA), as well as the Army Welfare Trust
Army Welfare Trust (AWT), ( ur, ) also known as Askari Group of Companies, is a Pakistani conglomerate company. It is based in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The Army Welfare Trust, along with Fauji Foundation, are run by ex-military personnel of the Paki ...
(AWT), and out 46 housing schemes directly built by the armed forces, none of the schemes is for ordinary soldiers, civilian officers, or personnel employed by the army.
The Fauji Foundation (lit. ''Military Foundation'') has shares in the Pakistan Stock Exchange
The Pakistan Stock Exchange ( ur, , abbreviated as PSX) is a stock exchange in Pakistan with trading floors in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore. PSX was classified by MSCI as a frontier market on 8 September 2021.
The PSX was established on 11 ...
(PSX) and is involved in manufacturing and selling processed meat, stud, and dairy farms meant for the military's own use while there are enterprises that perform functions in the local civilian economy such as bakeries, security, and banking services
Retail banking, also known as consumer banking or personal banking, is the provision of services by a bank to the general public, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks, which are often described as wholesale banking. Banking servi ...
. The army factories managed by the Fauji Foundation produce such goods such as sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
, Fauji Fertilizer, brass castings, and it sells its products to civilian consumers albeit at prices higher than those charged from military personnel.Pakistan Army. Globalsecurity.org. The Pakistani military has the largest shares in the PSX and has financial stakes in commercial banking, airlines, steel businesses, cement, telecoms, petroleum and energy, education, sports, health care, and even chains of grocery shops and bakeries.
Awards and Honors
Wartime Gallantry Awards
Nishan-e-Haider
In military awards hierarchy, the Nishan-e-Haidar (lit. ''Order of Lion''; Urdu: نشان حیدر) is the highest and most prestigious honor awarded posthumously for bravery and actions of valor in event of war. The honor is a namesake of Ali and the recipients receiving this honorary title as a sign of respect: ''Shaheed'' meaning ''martyr''. Since 1947–2019, there has been ten Pakistani military officers and personnel who have honored with this prestigious medal— out of which, nine have been officers and soldiers in the Pakistan Army, bestowed to those who engaged in wars with India.Recipient of the foreign awards
The Pakistan Army has been conferred with the foreign awards for its services provided to the foreign nations, including the honoring of two army pilots from the Aviation Corps who conducted a difficult operation in extracting the Slovenian mountaineer, Tomaz Humar, who got stranded on the western end of the Nanga Parbat and the Slovenian President presented Lt-Col. Rashiduhlla Beg and Lt-Col. Khalid Amir with the Golden Order for Services in the country's capital, Ljubljana, for risking their lives during the rescue mission, a Pakistan Army statement said. In addition, there are numbers of the army general officers have been honored multiple times with the United States'sLegion of Merit
The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...
for cooperation and strengthening bilateral ties with the United States 1980s–2015. In 2010, the Pakistan Army was awarded with a gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
at the Exercise Cambrian Patrol
Exercise Cambrian Patrol is an annual international military exercise that involves its participating units covering a 40-mile (65 km) course in less than 48 hrs while performing numerous types of military maneuvers and patrols placed throu ...
held in Wales in the United Kingdom.
Sports
The Army offers programs in many sports including boxing, field hockey,cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
, swimming, table tennis, karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
, basketball, soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
, and other sports.
The Army basketball program regularly provides the Pakistan national basketball team
The Pakistan National Basketball Team ( ur, پاکستان باسکٹ بال) is the basketball team representing Pakistan in international competitions, organised and run by the Pakistan Basketball Federation.
Its biggest success came at the ...
with players., www.nation.com.pk. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
See also
* Pakistan National Guard * Civil Armed Forces * Comparative military ranks *Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition
The Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC; ) is an intergovernmental counter-terrorist alliance of countries in the Muslim world, united around the War against the Islamic State and other counter-terrorist activities. Its creation ...
* List of serving generals of the Pakistan Army
* Military history of Pakistan
The military history of Pakistan ( ur, ) encompasses an immense panorama of conflicts and struggles extending for more than 2,000 years across areas constituting modern Pakistan and greater South Asia. The history of the modern-day military of ...
* ''Pakistan Army Retribution
''Pakistan Army Retribution'' is a Pakistani first-person shooter video game based upon the 2014 Peshawar school massacre. Developed as part of a peaceful campaign, it was designed as showing schoolchildren that "the best weapons are the pen an ...
'' ( video game)
* Pakistan Military Academy
* Special Service Group (SSG)
* Structure of the Pakistan Army
References
Further reading
* Cloughley, Brian. ''A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections'' (4th ed. 2014). * * Ayub, Muhammad (2005). ''An army, Its Role and Rule: A History of the Pakistan Army from Independence to Kargil, 1947–1999''. RoseDog Books. . * (A Bengali-language book about the history of Pakistan Army) *Paul Staniland, Adnan Naseemullah & Ahsan Butt (2020) "Pakistan’s military elite." ''Journal of Strategic Studies'', 43:1, 74-103External links
* {{Authority control Army 1947 establishments in Pakistan Military units and formations established in 1947 Government of Pakistan