Army Strategic Forces Command (Pakistan)
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| Army Strategic Forces Command (Pakistan) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 2000 to present |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Type | Strategic Corps |
| Role | Employment of Land Based Strategic Assets |
| Size | classified |
| Garrison/HQ | Rawalpindi [1] |
| Colors | Red and White |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Lt Gen Syed Absar Hussain |
| Notable commanders |
Lt Gen Ghulam Mustafa Lt Gen Khalid Munir |
The Army Strategic Forces Command (ASFC) is the force which commands all of Pakistan's land based strategic forces. Its purpose is the deterrence of attack by aggressors against Pakistan. It is considered the 10th Corps of the Pakistan Army.
Contents |
[edit] History
The Headquarters of the new formation was created in June 1999, shortly after the 1998 Nuclear Tests. The genesis of the new formation was that of then Chief of the Army Staff; General Pervez Musharraf, who desired to have a formal command and control structure for the employment of Pakistan land based nuclear weapons. The formation itself became operational in March 2000. It became a fully fledge corps in 2004.
[edit] Employment
The official remit of the formation is "the command and employment of all land-based strategic assets." This rather vague description seems to imply that it controls most, if not all, of Pakistans Ballistic launchers. While Pakistan is a nuclear weapons state, it is unknown at this time if ASFC is in possession or control of any nuclear warheads, though presumably in a nuclear war a good percentage of the warheads would be delivered to their targets by the launchers of the ASFC.
[edit] Composition
Since 2004 ASFC has been made the equivalent of a corps. It has subordinate divisions, brigades and units. There is scant information on these, except for the 47th Artillery Brigade, which seems to be based in Sargodha [2].
