The Pakistan Army is the largest branch of the Pakistan Military, and is mainly responsible for protection of the state borders, the security of administered territories and defending the national interests of Pakistan within the framework of its international obligations.
The Pakistan Army, combined with the NAvy and Air Force makes Pakistan 's armed forces the seventh largest military in the world. The Army is modelled on the United Kingdom armed forces and came into existence after the independence in 1947. It has an active force of 619,000 personnel and 528,000 men in reserve that continue to serve until the age of 45 and several other groups functioning under its many umbrella organisations. The Pakistani Army is a volunteer force and has been involved in many conflicts with India . Combined with this rich combat experience, the Army is also actively involved in contributing to United Nation peacekeeping efforts. Other foreign deployments have consisted of Pakistani Army personnel as advisers in many African, South Asian and Arab countries. The Pakistani Army maintained division and brigade strength presences in some of the Arab countries during the past Arab - Israeli Wars, and the first Gulf War to help the Coalition. The Pakistani Army is led by Genral Ashfaq Pervez Kayani the Chief of Army Staff, who replaced General Pervez Musharaf.
A 155mm M109 fires a shell at the firing range during an exercise
Combat
Pakistan Army has a doctrine of limited "offensive-defense" which it has tried to refine consistently ever since 1989 when it was pushed out to the formations during "Exercise Zarb-e-Momin". The main purpose of this strategy is to launch a sizeable offensive into enemy territory rather than wait to be hit from the enemy's offensive attack. The doctrine is based on the premise that while on the offensive, the enemy can be kept off-balance while allowing Pakistani Army to be able to seize enemy territory of strategic importance which can be used as a bargaining chip on the negotiating table. In order to do this, currently Pakistani Army maintains two sizable Strike Corps which will be backed up by Defensive Corps forming the defensive tier behind the strike corps. By pushing the offensive into the enemy territory, the Pakistani Army hopes to consolidate its gains inside the enemy's territory and will attempt to keep the enemy on the its side of the border rather than giving ground on the Pakistani side.In the 1990s, the Army created a strong centralized corps of reserves for its formations in the critical semi-desert and desert sectors in southernPunjab and Sindh provinces. These new formations were rapidly equipped with assets needed for mechanized capability. These reserve formations are dual-capable, meaning they can be used for offensive as well as defensive (holding) purposes.
Pakistan , today has a 45 day reserve of ammunition and fuel as compared to only 13 days in 1965 and has fairly effective and efficient lines of communication and can fully mobilize its formations in less than 96 hours owing to the lack of depth in the country's North South axis.
A M110 203mm (8 inch) howitzer at 23rd March Defence Day parade
Motto
The motto of the Pakistani Army reads: "Iman, Taqwa, Jihad fi Sabilillah". Translated into English, it means "Faith, Piety, to strive in the path of Allah".Organization
The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), formerly called the Commander in Chief (C in C), is challenged with the responsibility of commanding the Pakistani Army. The COAS operates from army headquarters in Rawalpindi near Islamabad. The Principal Staff Officers assisting him in his duties at the Lieutenant General level include a Chief of General Staff (CGS), who supervises the day to day running of the army, Director General Military Operations (DGMO), responsible for the overall operational planning; the Master General of Ordnance (MGO)/Chief of Logistics Staff (CLS); the Quarter-Master General (QMG); the Adjutant General (AG); the Inspector General of Training and Evaluation (IGT&E); and the Military Secretary (MS). The headquarters function also includes the Judge Advocate General (JAG), and the Comptroller of Civilian Personnel, the Chief of the Corps of Engineers (E-in-C)who is also head of Military Engineering Service (MES) all of them also report to the Chief of the Army Staff.
A Pakistan Army T-80UD equipped with deep fording equipment crosses a river during an exercise. Pakistan Army has 320 T-80UD MBT's in servic
Structure of Army units
The Pakistani Army is divided into two main branches, which are Arms and Services. Arms include:- Army Infantry Regiments
- Regiment of Artillery
- Armoured Corps Regiments
- Regiment of Air Defence
- Corps of Engineers
- Army Medical Corps
- Corps of Signals
- Army Ordnance Corps
- Maintenance and Repair Corps
- Electrical & Mechanical Engineering (EME) Corps
- Army Supply & Transport Corps (ASC)
- Army Education Corps (AEC)
- Military Police Corps
- Remount, Veterinary, and Farming Corps (RV&FC)
Army Unit | Number of Units | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Corps | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Infantry Divisions | 19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Artillery Divisions | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Special forces Brigades with 5 Battalions | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Air Defence Command with 3 Air Defence Groups, 8 AD Brigades | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Independent Mechanized Infantry Brigades | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Independent Armoured brigades | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Aviation Squadrons | 23 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Armored Recce Regiment | 8 |
A T-69 photographed during training
- Corps:A Corp in the Pakistani Army usually consists of two or more Divisions and is commanded by a Lieutenant General. Currently the Pakistani Army has 10 Corps. The tenth one is the recently raised Army Strategic Force Command (ASFC), responsible for bearing the national strategic and nuclear assets. Initially a Division, but then raised to the status of a Corps.
- Division: Each division is commanded by a Major General, and usually holds three Brigades including infantry, artillery, engineers and communications units in addition to logistics (supply and service) support to sustain independent action. Except for the Divisions operating in the mountains, all the Divisions have at least one armoured unit, some have even more depending upon their functionality. The most major of all ground force combat formations is the infantry division. Such a division would primarily hold three infantry brigades. There are 19 Infantry divisions, 2 Armored Divisions and 2 Artillery Division in the Pakistani Army.
- Brigade: A Brigade is under the command of a Brigadier or sometimes a Colonel and comprises three or more Battalions of different units depending on its functionality. An independent brigade would be one that primarily consists of an artillery unit, an infantry unit, an armour unit and logistics to support its actions. Such a brigade is not part of any division and is under direct command of a corps.
- Battalion: Each battalion is commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel and has roughly 600 to 900 soldiers under his command. This number varies depending on the functionality of the battalion. A battalion comprises either three batteries (in case of artillery and air defence regiments - generally named Papa, Quebec, Romeo, and Sierra) or four companies (in case of infantry regiments - generally named Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta - and other arms excluding armored units that are organized into squadrons) each under the command of a major and comprising of individual subunits called sections (which are further divisible into platoons and squads).
- Regiments
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*5th Horse is the successor to the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry (Wales's Horse), and the 2nd Sikh Irregular Cavalry, both raised in 1857
*6th Lancers is the successor to The Rohilkhand Horse raised in 1857, and the 4th Sikh Irregular Cavalry raised in 1858
*Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force) is the successor to the Corps of Guides raised in 1846
*11th Cavalry (Frontier Force) is the successor to 1st Regiment of Punjab Cavalry and 3rd Regiment of Punjab Cavalry, both raised in 1849
*13th Lancers is the successor to the 1st Native Troop raised in 1804, and the 2nd Native Troop raised in 1816. It is also the senior most armour regiment of the Indian Sub-Continent.
*19th Lancers is the successor to the 2nd Mahratta Horse (Tiwana Horse) raised in 1858, and Fane's Horse raised in 1860
*25th Cavalry (Frontier Force) is the famous unit which stopped Indian armour thrust in Chawinda in 1965
*The Punjab Regiment formed in 1956 from the 1st, 14th, 15th and 16th Punjab Regiments; can be traced back to the 3rd Battalion of Coast Sepoys raised in 1759
*The Baloch Regiment formed in 1956 from the 8th Punjab Regiment, The Baloch Regiment, and The Bahawalpur Regiment; can be traced back to the 3rd Extra Madras Battalion raised in 1798
*The Frontier Force Regiment is the successor to the Frontier Brigade raised in 1846
*The Azad Kashmir Regiment was raised in 1947, became part of the army in 1971
*The Sindh Regiment was raised in 1980 from battalions of the Punjab Regiment and Baloch Regiment
*The Northern Light Infantry was formed in 1977 from various paramilitary units of scouts, became part of the army in 1999 after the Kargil War
*The Special Service Group was formed in 1959 around a cadre from the Baloch Regiment.
Al Khalid Tank during and Exercise
Corps
There are 10 Corps including the newly formed Strategic Corps (2004) located at various garrisons all over Pakistan .Corps | HQ Location | Major Formations under Corps | Commander | ||
6th Armoured Division (Kharian), 17th Infantry Division (Kharian), 37th Infantry Division (Gujranwala) | Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed | ||||
II Corps | Lt Gen Sikandar Afzal | ||||
IV Corps | Lahore, Punjab | Lt Gen Ijaz Ahmed Bakhshi | |||
V Corps | Lt Gen Ahsan Azhar Hayat | ||||
Rawalpindi, Punjab | Force Command Northern Areas (Gilgit), 12th Infantry Division (Murree), 19th Infantry Division (Mangla), 23rd Infantry Division (Jhelum) | Lt Gen Mohsin Kamal | |||
Gujranwala, Punjab | Lt Gen Waseem Ahmed Ashraf | ||||
XXXI Corps | Bahawalpur, Punjab | 26th Mechanized Division (Bahawalpur), 35th Infantry Division (Bahawalpur), 40th Infantry Division (Okara) | Lt Gen Raza Muhammad Khan | ||
Rawalpindi , Punjab | Lt Gen Syed Absar Hussain |
Al - Khalid Tank
Pakistan Army Role in Peacekeeping
In the wake of the new world power equilibrium a more complex security environment has emerged. It is characterized by growing national power politics and state implosions which have necessitated involvement of the United Nations peace keeping forces for conflict resolution.
The United Nations has been undertaking peace keeping operations since its inception, but the need for employment of peace keeping forces has increased manifold since the Gulf War. In 1992 there were 11000 Blue Berets deployed around the world, by the end of the year the figure rose to 52000. Presently it exceeds a staggering figure of 80,000 troops.
Al-Zarrar photographed during a training exercise
Personnel Training
Enlisted ranks
Most enlisted personnel used to come from rural families, and many have only rudimentary literacy skills, but with the increase in the litracy level the requirements have been raised to Matriculate level (10th Grade). Recruits are processed gradually through a paternalistically run regimental training center, taught 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 men usually serve for eighteen years, during which they participate in regular training cycles and have the opportunity to take academic courses to help them advance.
An AIFV (now named as PIFV where P-stands for Pakistan) was assembled in HIT from Semi-Knocked Down Condition in early 1991. The vehicle was put to user trials in erly 1991
Officer Ranks
About 320 men enter the army bi-annually through the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul in Abbottabad in the NWFP, a small number--especially physicians and technical specialists--are directly recruited, and these persons are part of the heart of the officer corps. The product of a highly competitive selection process, members of the officer corps have completed twelve years of education and spend two years at the Pakistan Military Academy, with their time divided about equally between military training and academic work to bring them up to a baccalaureate education level, which includes English-language skills.The army has twelve other training establishments, including schools concentrating on specific skills such as infantry, artillery, intelligence, or mountain warfare. A National University of Science and Technology (NUST) has been established which has absorbed the existing colleges of engineering, signals, and electrical engineering. At the apex of the army training system is the Command and Staff College at Quetta, one of the few institutions inherited from the colonial period. The college offers a ten-month course in tactics, staff duties, administration, and command functions through the division level. Students from foreign countries, including the United States, have attended the school but reportedly have been critical of its narrow focus and failure to encourage speculative thinking or to give adequate attention to less glamorous subjects, such as logistics.
The senior training institution for all service branches is the National Defence University. Originally established in 1971 at Rawalpindi, to provide training in higher military strategy for senior officers, the school house was relocated to Islamabad in 1995. It also offers courses that allow civilians to explore the broader aspects of national security. In a program begun in the 1980s to upgrade the intellectual standards of the officer corps and increase awareness of the wider world, a small group of officers, has been detailed to academic training, achieving master's degrees and even doctorates at universities in Pakistan and abroad.
Pakistani officers were sent abroad during the 1950s and into the 1960s for training in Britain and other Commonwealth countries, and especially to the United States, where trainees numbering well in the hundreds attended a full range of institutions ranging from armored and infantry schools to the higher staff and command institutions. After 1961 this training was coordinated under the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program, but numbers varied along with vicissitudes in the United States-Pakistan military relationship. Of some 200 officers being sent abroad annually in the 1980s, over two-thirds went to the United States, but the cessation of United States aid in 1990 entailed suspension of the IMET program. In 1994 virtually all foreign training was in Commonwealth countries. However, after the 9 / 11 attacks, Pakistan again has begun sending officers to US Army schools. Today there are more than 400 officers serving in foreign countries.
Officers retire between the ages of fifty-two and sixty, depending on their rank.
M110 203mm (8 inch) howitzers photographed at unit lines
Women and Minorities in the Army
Women have served in the Pakistani Army since its foundation. Currently, there is a sizable number of Women serving in the army. Most women are recruited in the regular Army to perform medical and educational work. There is also a Women's Guard section of Pakistan 's National Guard where women are trained in nursing, welfare and clerical work and there are also women recruited in very limited numbers for the Janbaz Force. Only recently has Pakistan began to recruit women for combat positions and the Elite Anti-Terrorist Force In 2007, several female graduates were nominated to be Sky Marshals for Pakistan based airlines. In addition recently eight of the 41 cadets from the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul became the first women guards of honour. Pakistan is the only country in the Islamic world to have women Major Generals in the Army.Recruitment is nationwide and the army attempts to maintain an ethnic balance but most enlisted recruits, as in British times, come from a few districts in northern Punjab Province and the adjacent Azad Kashmir and the NWFP. Pakistan 's Officer Corps are also mostly from Punjab and the North West Frontier Province and of middle-class, rural backgrounds.
Minorities in Pakistan are allowed to sit in all examinations, including the one conducted by Inter Services Selection Board however the proportion of religious minorities in the Pakistan army is still considerably very less. The army sees itself as a national institution and thus many non-Muslim officers (including Qadiyanis) have achieved high ranks within the army.
PA M-113 BATTAAR has a twin 106mm Recoilless Rifle (RR) mounted on APC-M113A2. BATTAAR has been indigenously produced in 502 Central Workshop EME - picture circa 1990
Awards for Valor
The Nishan - e - Haider (Sign of the Lion), is the highest military award given by Pakistan .Recipients Nishan-e-Haider recipients receive an honorary title as a sign of respect: Shaheed meaning martyr for deceased recipients.
- Captain Muhammad Sarwar Shaheed (1910–July 27, 1948)
- Major Tufail Muhammad Shaheed (1914–August 7, 1958)
- Major Raja Aziz Bhatti Shaheed (1928–September 10, 1965)
- Major Muhammad Akram Shaheed (1938–1971)
- Major Shabbir Sharif Shaheed (1943–December 6, 1971)
- Jawan Sowar Muhammad Hussain Shaheed (1949–December 10, 1971)
- Lance Naik Muhammad Mahfuz Shaheed (1944–December 17, 1971)
- Captain Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed (1970–July 5, 1999)
- Lalak Jan Shaheed (1967–July 7, 1999)
The Slovenian president has presented Lt Col Rashid Ullah Beg and Lt Col Khalid Amir Rana 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.
SAAD APC photograped at IDEAS 2006 Defence Exhibition.
Special Service Group (Commando) during Pakistan Day Prade
Special Forces
The Special Service Group (SSG) is an independent Commando division of the Pakistan Army. It is an Elite Special Operations force similar to the British Special Air Service and the United States Army Special Forces (Green Berets). Official numbers are put between 2,500 to 3,000; however the actual strength is classified. It is estimated to have been increased to 4 battalions, with the eventual formation of 2 brigades of Special Forces (6 Battalions). The Pakistan SSG participated in numerous military and anti terrorism operations in Pakistan as well as overseas such as the Seizure of the Grand Mosque in Makkah in 1979. The SSG is also tasked with the protection of the President, Prime Minister, and High Ranking Military Officials. SSG troops also participated in the Lal Masjid Operation in July 2007. Currently the SSG is operating in the tribal belt, along the Pakistani-Afghan border for counter insurgency operations.
T80UD Tank
Weapons and Equipment
Small Arms
- G3, Types A3 & P4 Assault Rifle*
- Anti Aircraft Machine Gun 12.7 mm, Type 54*
- Steyr SSG-4 and SSG-P2 sniper rifles*
- M82 Barrett rifle (US Semi-Automatic Sniper Rifle .50 BMG)
- Type 81 Assault Rifle
- M4 Carbine
- AK-47 Assault Rifle
- AK-103 Assault Rifle
Pakistan Army Inventory | ||
Vehicle/System/Aircraft | Firm Number in Service | Status |
Al Khalid Main Battle Tank | 320 | In Service, Under production. 600 planned |
Type 85IIAP Main Battle Tank | 200 | In Service. Being phased out |
Type T 80 Main Battle Tank | 300 | Imported from Ukraine |
Al-Zarar Tank Main Battle Tank | 720 | Currently under production |
Type 79IIAP (Chinese T-81 Upgrade) | 250 | Being phased out by Al Khalid |
T-80UD Main Battle Tank | 320 + 250 | Delivered by Ukraine between 1997 and early 2002. 250 more were ordered in early 2002. |
400 | Being phased out | |
1200 | Being phased out by Al Zarrar & Al Khalid II | |
240 | Being phased out by Al Khalid | |
Al-Khalid II Main Battle Tank | ??? | 3.000 Planed |
??? | Being procured | |
140 | In Service | |
400+ | Final number to be around 2,000 | |
Sa'ad Armoured Personnel Carrier | ??? | Currently in production |
M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier | 1500+ | In Service |
BTR-70 Armoured Personnel Carrier | 169 | In Service |
Mohafiz Light Armoured Personnel Carrier | ??? | In Service & Additional APCs being procured |
260 | In Service | |
?? | Being procured | |
??? | In Service | |
M60A1 AVLB Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge | ??? | In Service |
M48 Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge | ??? | In Service |
M47M AVLB Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge | ??? | In Service |
M109A5 155 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer | ??? | 115 Ordered along with 150 A5 upgrade kits |
M109A2 155 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer | 150 | In Service |
M110A2 203 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer | 40 | In Service |
M7 Priest 105 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer | 50 | In Service |
Type 56 85 mm Towed Artillery | 200 | In Service |
M-56 105 mm Towed Artillery | 80 | In Service |
M101 105 mm Towed Artillery | 300 | In Service |
T-60 122 mm Towed Artillery | 200 | In Service |
Type 54 122 mm Towed Artillery | 400 | In Service |
Type 59I 130 mm Towed Artillery | 200 | In Service |
M-59 155 mm Towed Artillery | 30 | In Service |
M114 155 mm Towed Artillery | 60 | In Service |
M-198 155 mm Towed Artillery | 120 | In Service |
M-115 203 mm Towed Artillery | 40 | In Service |
Panther T-155 mm Towed Artillery | 12 | Produced and Delivered byTurkey |
18 | In Service, (20 originally purchased in 1983; remaining being upgraded to AH-1F configuration) | |
AH-1F Cobra Attack Helicopter | 20 | In Service, (12 AH-1F delivered in 2007 with remaining 8 to be delivered in June 2008) |
Bell 412 Huey Transport Helicopter | 25 | In Service |
Bell 206 Jet Ranger Transport Helicopter | 5 | In Service |
UH-1 Huey Transport Helicopter | 10 | In Service |
Aérospatiale Puma Transport Helicopter | 25 | In Service |
Mil Mi-17 Transport Helicopter | 86 | Additional helicopters planned |
Bell 407 Light Transport Helicopter | 45 | |
Eurocopter AS-550 Light Transport Helicopter | 50 | Replacing Alouette III & Lama |
Aérospatiale Alouette III Light Transport Helicopter | 40 | Being phased out |
Aérospatiale SA-315B Lama Light Transport Helicopter (variant of Aerospatiale Alouette II) | 40 | Being phased out |
T-59s during a training exercise
Mortars
- (Type) 81 mm
- AM-FFFF Series 120 mm
- Type 63-1
Anti-tank Guided Weapons
A SA-7 missile and launcher
- TOW ATGM
- TOW II (recently procured)
- Bakter-Shikan ATGM
Army Air Defence
- Anti-aircraft guns: ZU-23/-33, -30, -36, -37, -57 mm
- Bofors RBS-23 BAMSE (source?)
- Bofors RBS-70
- SA-7 Grail
- General Dynamics FIM-92 Stinger
- General Dynamics FIM-43 Redeye
- Anza MKI, Anza MKII and Anza MKIII
- HQ-2B
- Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon
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