corps
Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...
of the Pakistan Army currently headquartered in
Quetta
Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...
,
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...
paramilitary
A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934.
Overview
Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
, and other military formations supporting the XII Corps, the corps has an
area of responsibility
Area of responsibility (AOR) is a pre-defined geographic region assigned to Combatant commanders of the Unified Command Plan (UCP), that are used to define an area with specific geographic boundaries where they have the authority to plan and c ...
of Balochistan and oversees its mission of
responsibility to protect
The responsibility to protect (R2P or RtoP) is a global political commitment which was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly at the 2005 World Summit in order to address its four key concerns to prevent genocide, war crimes, ethnic cle ...
as an army's regional formation in Pakistan's security apparatus known as the Southern Command.
History
Formations and war service
The
Afghan
Afghan or Afgan may refer to:
Related to Afghanistan
*Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...
and
Iranian immigration
Iranian () may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Iran
** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran
** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia
** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...
to Pakistan and the
Afghan Army
The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when the Ho ...
's military raids in
Chaman
Chaman (Pashto and ) is the capital city of the Chaman District in Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan, Pakistan. It is located near the Durand Line, Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The city is situated south of the Wesh–Chaman border crossing with ...
prompted the Army GHQ to form and raise the military formations to guard its western borders in 1984. The XII Corps was raised with its HQ in
Quetta Cantonment
Quetta Cantonment is a military cantonment area adjacent to the city of Quetta in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.K.K. Afridi becoming its first commander in 1985. Its military engagement has been limited to the
Balochistan conflict
The insurgency in Balochistan () is an ongoing insurgency by Baloch people, Baloch separatist insurgents and various Islamist militant groups against the governments of Iran in the Provinces of Iran, province of Sistan and Baluchestan provinc ...
, which it mainly tackles through the
Frontier Corps
The Frontier Corps (, reporting name: FC) are a group of four paramilitary forces of Pakistan, operating in the provinces of Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to maintain law and order while overseeing the country's b ...
(paramilitary) and local
police department
The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citize ...
.
Syed Zakir Ali Zaidi served as the corps commander in 1987-89. After handing over the corps to his successor he became president of the National Defence University, from 1 August 1989 to18 June 1990.
Similar to 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 Arm ...
in Sindh, the XII Corps has an area of expertise in
desert warfare
Desert warfare is warfare in deserts or similar arid or semi-arid environments. The term encompasses military operations affected by the terrain, climate, and resource availability of these areas, as well as the strategies and tactics used by mil ...
, and oversees security operations together with the local law enforcement, mechanized divisions guarding the nation's desert and dune ranges, and paramilitary to ensure the national defenses of the Pakistan.
Together with the air force units, naval bases, marines camps, paramilitaries, army reserves, and air forces ranges, the XII Corps forms and leads the major regional formation in Pakistan's security spectrum known as the Southern Command.
Structure
The XII Corps has not seen military action against the
Indian Army
The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
(east) nor the
Afghan National Army
The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the army, land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when th ...
(west) but tackled counterinsurgency time to time which led to the troop rotations based on the strategic calculations. The XII Corps has receives reinforcement in its missions on war on terror and is based on the known information publicly available: