Pakistan Army

Pakistan Army
Flag of the Pakistani Army
Flag of the Pakistani Army
Founded August 14, 1947
Country Pakistan
Size 550,000 active troops (Center for Defense Information)[1]
Part of Pakistani Armed Forces
Headquarters Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Motto Iman, Taqwa, Jihad fi Sabilillah. Men at their best
Colour Green and White
        
Commanders
Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
Notable
commanders
Field Marshal Ayub Khan
General Zia-ul-haq
General Pervez Musharraf
Aircraft flown
Attack Bell AH-1 Cobra
Helicopter Bell 412, Bell 407
Transport Mil Mi-8/17, Aérospatiale Alouette III, Bell 412,

The Pakistan Army (Urdu: پاک فوج) is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the Pakistani military and is one of three uniformed services.

The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan Army is a volunteer professional fighting force.[2] It has an active force of 550,000 personnel.[1] The Pakistani constitution contains a provision for conscription, but it has never been imposed.

Since independence, the Army has been involved in four wars with neighbouring India and several border skirmishes with Afghanistan. It maintained division and brigade strength presences in some of the Arab countries during the past Arab-Israeli Wars, and aided the Coalition in the first Gulf War. Other major operations undertaken by the Army include Operation Black Thunderstorm and Operation Rah-e-Nijat. Apart from conflicts, the Army has been an active participant in UN missions and played a major role in rescuing trapped American soldiers from Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993 in Operation Gothic Serpent.

The President of Pakistan is the Commander-in-Chief and supreme commander of the Army. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), a General, a four star officer, technically subordinate to the Defence Minister and the defence secretary, commands the Army.

Contents

Mission statement

Pakistan Army serves as the land-based branch of the Pakistan Military. Chapter 2 of PART XII of Pakistani Constitution defines the purpose of the Army as:[3]

History

1947–1958

The Pakistan Army was created on 30 June 1947 with the division of the British Indian Army. Pakistan received six armoured, eight artillery and eight infantry regiments compared to the 12 armoured, forty artillery and twenty one infantry regiments that went to India. Fearing that India would take over the state of Kashmir, irregulars, scouts and tribal groups joined the Kashmiris opposing the Maharaja of Kashmir in 1947. This led to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. Regular army units joined the invasion later on but were stopped after the refusal of the army chief of staff, British officer General Frank Messervy to obey Pakistani leader Jinnah's orders to move the army into Kashmir. A ceasefire followed on UN intervention with Pakistan occupying the northwestern part of Kashmir and India the rest. Later, during the 1950s, the Pakistan Army received large amounts of economic and military aid from the United States and Great Britain after signing two mutual defence treaties, the Baghdad Pact, which led to the formation of the Central Treaty Organisation, and the South East Asian Treaty Organisation (SEATO) in 1954. This aid greatly expanded the Army from its modest beginnings.

The sole division headquarters that went to Pakistan was the 7th. 8th and 9th Divisions were raised in 1947; 10, 12th and 14 Divisions were raised in 1948. 15 Div was raised in 1950. At some point before 1954, 6 Division was raised and 9 Division disbanded. 6 Division was disbanded at some point after 1954 as US assistance was available only for one armoured and six infantry divisions. 1st Armoured Division was raised in 1956.

1958–1969

Pakistani soldiers during the Battle of Chawinda.

The Army seized control of Pakistan for the first time when General Ayub Khan came to power through a bloodless coup in 1958. Tensions with India continued in the 1960s and a brief border skirmish was fought near the Rann of Kutch area during April 1965. The Pakistan Army commanders seemed emboldened and carried out Operation Gibraltar, an attempt to take Kashmir that was launched later in the year and resulted in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. After the Pakistani infiltrators were discovered, India counter-attacked and the 3-week war ended in a U.N. mandated ceasefire culminating in the Tashkent Declaration.

An uprising against General Ayub Khan during 1968 and 1969 resulted in Ayub Khan relinquishing his office as President and Chief of Army Staff in favour of General Yahya Khan, who assumed power in 1969. 16 Division, 18 Division and 23 Division were raised at some point between 1966 and 1969 and 9 Division was re-raised during this period.

1969–1977

During the rule of General Yahya Khan, the Bengali people of East Pakistan protested against various political and economic conditions that had been imposed on them by West Pakistan and massive civil unrest broke out in East Pakistan. While the Pakistan Army attempted to quell the uprisings, which included killings of tens of thousands of non-Bengalis by Bengali rebels,[4] incidents of human rights abuses were carried out by certain sections of the Pakistan Army in East Pakistan. India assisted Bangladeshi freedom fighters for months before beginning an invasion of East Pakistan in December 1971. The Pakistani military in East Pakistan was very heavily out-numbered following a policy that "East Pakistan's defence lay in West Pakistan" and by 16 December 1971, around 93,000 West Pakistanis were surrendered and taken Prisoner of War by the Indian Army. They included around 55,000 military personnel and around 35,000 government and civil employees. East Pakistan was made independent from West Pakistan, becoming the People's Republic of Bangladesh. This defeat was considered as complete and humiliating for pakistan, and it fractured the pakistani society. Pakistan lost half of its territory, as a consequence of pre-emptive strike on India. (See Indo Pak war in 1971)

According to Maj. (Retd.) Agha Humayun Amin, Pakistan Army high command commanders had not seriously considered an Indian invasion of East Pakistan until December 1971 because it was presumed that the Indian military would not risk Chinese or U.S. intervention. They failed to realise that the Chinese would be unable to intervene during the November to December 1971 period due to snowbound Himalayan passes and the U.S. had not made any real effort to persuade India against attacking East Pakistan.[5]

1977–1999

Two AH-1S Cobra attack helicopters of the Pakistan Army Aviation Wing at AVN Base, Multan. These were sold to Pakistan by the U.S. during the Soviet-Afghan war to help defend Pakistan against a possible attack by the Soviets.

In 1977 the Pakistan Army took over the government of Pakistan after a coup staged by General Zia ul-Haq, which saw the end of another democratically elected government. The event led to the hanging of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto after he was tried and proclaimed guilty of conspiracy of murdering a politician named Kasuri by Zia's handpicked judges. Zia ul-Haq renaged on his promise of holding elections within 90 days and ruled as a military dictator until his death in an air crash in 1988. At that time General Mohammad Iqbal Khan was a powerful general of Pakistan. He served as a joint chief from 1980 to 1984 and was the Chief Martial Law Officer at that time. If Zia ul-Haq would have resigned at that time he would be the next COAS.

Pakistan Army also helped the Saudi Arabian Government in regaining the control of the Kaaba with the help of French Commandos. Pakistani and French security forces retook Kaaba after the Grand Mosque Seizure, which left approximately 250 dead and 600 wounded. The Pakistanis and French were called in after poor results from assaults by the Saudi Arabian National Guard. 127 were reported to have been killed.

In the mid-1970s the Pakistan Army was involved in fighting an uprising in Balochistan. Various Balochi factions, some with the oblique support of the USSR, wanted independence or at least greater provincial rights. The rebellion was put down on the behest of the Bhutto government but the Army suffered heavy casualties. After Bhutto was deposed, the province returned to normalcy under General Rahimuddin.

1999–present

View of the hotel after the attack in Islamabad, Pakistan. The bombing was called Pakistan's 9/11.

In October 1999 the Pakistan Army for the fourth time, overthrew a democratically elected government which resulted in additional sanctions being placed against Pakistan, resulting in General Pervez Musharraf coming to power in a bloodless coup. Musharraf stepped down as President in August 2008. On July 30, 2009, the Pakistan Supreme Court ruled that General Musharraf's imposition of the Emergency Rule in 2007 was unconstitutional.[6]

After the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan joined the US-led 'War on Terror' and helped the United States armed forces by severing ties with the Taliban and immediately deploying 72,000 troops along Pakistan's western border to capture or kill Taliban and al-Qaida militants fleeing from Afghanistan.

On the north western front, Pakistan initially garrisoned its troops in military bases and forts in the tribal areas. In May 2004 clashes erupted between the Pakistani troops and al-Qaeda's and other militants joined by local rebels and pro-Taliban forces. However, the offensive was poorly coordinated and the Pakistani Army suffered heavy casualties as well public support for the attack quickly evaporated. After a 2 year conflict from 2004 till 2006, the Pakistani military negotiated a ceasefire with the tribesmen from the region in which they pledged to hunt down al-Qaeda members, stop the Talibanization of the region and stop attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, the militants did not hold up their end of the bargain and began to regroup and rebuild their strength from the previous 2 years of conflict.

The militants emboldened by their success in FATA moved into Islamabad where they sought to impose an extremist Sharia government on Pakistan. Their base of operations was the Lal Masjid in Islamabad. After a 6 month standoff fighting erupted again in July 2007 when the Pakistani Military decided to use force to end the Lal Masjid threat. Once the operation ended, the newly formed Pakistani Taliban, an umbrella group of all militants based in FATA vowed revenge and launched a wave of attacks and suicide bombings erupted all over North-West Pakistan and major Pakistani cities throughout 2007.

The militants then expanded their base of operations and moved into the neighbouring Swat Valley and imposed a very harsh Sharia law on the scenic valley. The Army launched an offensive to re-take the Swat Valley in 2007 but was unable to clear it of the militants who had fled into the mountains and waited for the Army to leave to take over the valley again. The militants then launched another wave of terrorist attacks inside Pakistan. The Pakistani government and military tried another peace deal with the militants in Swat Valley in 2008. This was roundly criticized in the West as abdicating to the militants. Initially pledging to lay down their arms if Sharia Law was implemented, the Pakistani Taliban used Swat Valley as a springboard to launch further attacks into neighbouring regions and reached to within 60 km of Islamabad.

The public opinion turned decisively against the Pakistani Taliban when a video showing a flogging of a girl by the Pakistani Taliban in Swat Valley finally forced the army to launch a deceive attack against the Taliban occupying Swat Valley in April 2009 after having received orders from the political leadership.[7] After heavy fighting the Swat Valley was largely pacified by July 2009 although there are isolated pockets of Taliban activity continues.

The next phase of Pakistani Army's offensive was the formidable Waziristan region. A US drone attack killed the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud in August. A power struggle engulfed the Pakistani Taliban for the whole of September but by October a new leader had emerged, Hakimullah Mehsud. Under his leadership, the Pakistani Taliban launched another wave of terrorist attacks throughout Pakistan killing hundreds of people. After a few weeks of softening up the targets with air strikes and artillery and mortar attacks, the Army backed by 30,000 troops moved in a three pronged attack on South Waziristan. The Army re-took South Waziristan and is currently thinking of expanding the campaign to North Waziristan.

In Balochistan, a low level insurgency broke out in 2005, in which the Balochis and their leader, Nawab Akbar Bugti demanded greater autonomy for Balochistan, greater compensation for the resources being used by Pakistan and criticized the government for the lack of development that had occurred there. One of Bugti's demands that put him into direct conflict with the military cabal was the trial of an army captain accused of raping a lady doctor posted at Sui.[8]

The Pakistani Army commenced operations in 2006, resulting in the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti. In an interview with journalist Hamid Mir, Bugti said "Read Mir Gul Khan Nasir's book on the history of Balochistan. The Baloch have always resisted unconstitutional measures. I'm not a traitor, the people who go against the Article 6 and take control of Pakistan are the real traitors. I, like Mir Gul Khan Nasir, only put forward the demand for Balochistan's rights. But in General Musharraf's view this is a crime punishable by death. (Bugti Laughs then continues) Your commando general will rest only after he martyrs me but after my martyrdom he will be held responsible. So now it's up to you people to either choose Musharraf or Pakistan. The choice is yours."[9][10]. The trial of the captain never took place and the doctor was exiled by Gen. Musharraf.

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 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.

  • UN Operation in Congo (ONUC) 1960–1964
  • UN Security Force in New Guinea, West Irian (UNSF) 1962–1963
  • UN Yemen Observer Mission Yemen (UNYOM) 1963–1964
  • UN Transition Assistance Group in Namibia (UNTAG) 1989–1990
  • UN IraqKuwait 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 Rawanda (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

The table below shows the current deployment of Pakistani Forces in UN Peacekeeping missions.

Start of operation Name of Operation Location Conflict Contribution
1999 United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of Congo Second Congo War 3556 Troops.[11]
2003 United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) Liberia Liberia Second Liberian Civil War 2741 Troops.[11]
2004 United Nations Operation in Burundi ONUB Burundi Burundi Burundi Civil War 1185 Troops.[11]
2004 United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) Côte d'Ivoire Côte d'Ivoire Civil war in Côte d'Ivoire 1145 Troops.[11]
2005 United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS) Sudan Sudan Second Sudanese Civil War 1542 Troops.[11]
Staff/Observers 191 Observers.[11]

Organization

Command Structure

The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), formerly called the Commander in Chief (C in C), is charged with the responsibility of commanding the Pakistan Army. The COAS operates from army headquarters in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. The Principal Staff Officers (PSO's) assisting him in his duties at the Lieutenant General level include a Chief of General Staff (CGS), under whom the Military Operations and Intelligence Directorates function; the Chief of Logistics Staff (CLS); the Adjutant General (AG); the Quarter-Master General (QMG); the Inspector General of Training and Evaluation (IGT&E); and the Military Secretary (MS). A major reorganization in GHQ was done in September 2008 under General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, when two new PSO positions were introduced: the Inspector General Arms and the Inspector General Communications and IT, thus raising the number of PSO's to eight.[12].

The headquarters function also includes the Judge Advocate General (JAG), and the Comptroller of Civilian Personnel, the Engineer-in-Chief of the Corps of Engineers who is also head of Military Engineering Service (MES), all of them also report to the Chief of the Army Staff.

Rank Structure

The rank structure is patterned on the British Army model. Following the British Indian Army traditions, there are three junior commissioned officer (JCO) grades between enlisted and officer rank, for those who rise by promotion from among enlisted recruits. The Junior Commissioned Officer is a continuation of the former Viceroy's Commissioned Officer rank. During the early days of the Pakistan Army, there was a large cultural gap between officers and enlisted personnel. In the early 1990s, JCOs had wide responsibilities in the day-to-day supervision of lower grades, but they were a group that may have outlived its usefulness because officers have become "more Pakistani" and less dependent on British models and because the education level of enlisted men has risen. Promotion to JCO rank, however, remains a powerful incentive for enlisted personnel; thus, if JCO ranks are ever phased out, it will likely be a slow process.

Pakistani Officer Ranks
Rank Field Marshal
(5-Star)
General

(4-Star)
Lieutenant General
(3-Star)
Major General
(2-Star)
Brigadier General
(1-Star)
Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Major Captain Lieutenant 2nd Lieutenant
NATO equivalent OF-10 OF-9 OF-8 OF-7 OF-6 OF-5 OF-4 OF-3 OF-2 OF-1 OF-1
Uniform insignia General Pak Army.jpg Lieutenant General Pak Army.jpg Major General Pak Army.jpg Brigadier Pak Army.jpg Colonel Pak Army.jpg Lieutenant Colonel.jpg Major Pak Army.jpg Captain Pak Army.jpg Lieutenant Pak Army.jpg Lt2 Pak Army.jpg

The Pakistani defence service officers usually wear badges of rank on the shoulder epaulettes.

Structure of Army units

The Pakistan Army is divided into two main branches, which are Arms and Services.

  • Arms
    • Armoured Corps
    • Infantry
    • Artillery
    • Air Defence
    • Engineers
    • Signals
    • Army Aviation
  • Services
    • Army Medical Corps
    • Ordnance
    • Electrical & Mechanical Engineering (EME)
    • Army Supply & Transport (ASC)

Operational Commands

Pakistan Army Structure (click to enlarge)

The army operates 6 tactical commands during peace time. Each command is headed by General Officer Commanding-in-Chief with the rank of Lieutenant General. Each command is directly affiliated to the Army HQ in Rawalpindi. During times of times of war, the Army unifies the 6 commands into 2 Armies; Army Reserve North (ARN) and Army Reserve South (ARS).

Army Reserve North's area of responsibilities lies from the Line of Control in Kashmir up to Central Punjab and Army Reserve South's area of responsibilities is from Central Punjab to coast of the Arabian Sea in Sindh. Each Army has a Strike Corps with several holding Corps and a Reserve Corps.

Army Reserve North's Composition:

Army Reserve South's Composition:

Corps

Other Field Formations

  • Division: An Army Division is an intermediate between a Corps and a Brigade. It is the largest striking force in the army. Each Division is headed by [General Officer Commanding] (GOC) in the rank of Major General. It usually consists of 15,000 combat troops and 8,000 support elements. Currently, the Pakistani Army has 29 Divisions including 20 Infantry Divisions, 2 Armoured Divisions, 2 Mechanized Divisions, 2 Air Defence Divisions, 2 Strategic Divisions and 1 Artillery Division. Each Division composes of several Brigades.
  • Brigade: A Brigade generally consists of around 3,000 combat troops with supporting elements. An Infantry Brigade usually has 3 Infantry Battalions along with various Support Arms & Services. It is headed by a Brigadier, equivalent to a Brigadier General in some armies. In addition to the Brigades in various Army Divisions, the Pakistani Army also has 7 Independent Armoured Brigades, 5 Independent Artillery Brigades, 3 Independent Infantry Brigades, 2 Anti-Tank Brigades. These Independent Brigades operate directly under the Corps Commander (GOC Corps).
  • Battalion: A Battalion is commanded by a Colonel and is the Infantry's main fighting unit. It consists of more than 900 combat personnel.
  • Company: Headed by the Major, a Company comprises 120 soldiers.
  • Platoon: An intermediate between a Company and Section, a Platoon is headed by a Lieutenant or depending on the availability of Commissioned Officers, a Junior Commissioned Officer, with the rank of Subedar or Naib-Subedar. It has a total strength of about 32 troops.
  • Section: Smallest military outfit with a strength of 10 personnel. Commanded by a Non-commissioned officer of the rank of Havildar Major or Sergeant Major.

Regiments

Pakistan's Honor Guards at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad

There are several battalions or units associated together in an infantry regiment. The infantry regiment in the Pakistani Army is an administrative military organization and not a field formation. All the battalions of a regiment do not fight together as one formation, but are dispersed over various formations, viz. brigades, divisions and corps. An infantry battalion serves for a period of time under a formation and then moves to another, usually in another sector or terrain when its tenure is over. Occasionally, battalions of the same regiment may serve together for a tenure.

Most of the infantry regiments of the Pakistani Army originate from the old British Indian Army and recruit troops from a region or of specific ethnicities.

Regiments of the Pakistani Army include:

  • Infantry:
    • Frontier Force Regiment (FF)
    • Punjab Regiment
    • Sindh Regiment
    • Baloch Regiment
    • Azad Kashmir Regiment (AK)
    • Northern Light Infantry (NLI)
  • Pakistan Armoured Corps:
    • 4th Cavalry
    • 5th Horse (descendant of 5th King Edward's Own Probyn's Horse)
    • 6th Lancers (descendant of 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse))
    • 7th Lancers
    • 8th Cavalry
    • 9th Lancers
    • Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force)
    • 11th Cavalry (Frontier Force)
    • 12th Cavalry (Frontier Force)
    • 13th Lancers (Baloch Regiment)
    • 14th Lancers
    • 15th Lancers
    • 16th Horse
    • 17th Lancers
    • 18th Horse
    • 19th Lancers (descendant of 19th King George's Own Lancers)
    • 20th Lancers
    • 21st Horse
    • 22nd Cavalry
    • 23rd Cavalry (Frontier Force)
    • 24th Cavalry (Frontier Force)
    • 25th Cavalry (Frontier Force)
    • 26th Cavalry
    • 27th Cavalry
    • 28th Cavalry
    • 29th Cavalry
    • 30th Cavalry
    • 31st Cavalry
    • 32nd Cavalry
    • 33rd Cavalry
    • 34th Lancers
    • 37th Cavalry
    • 38th Cavalry
    • 39th Cavalry
    • 40th Horse
    • 41st Horse (Frontier Force)
    • 42nd Lancers
    • 51st Lancers
    • 52nd Cavalry
    • 53rd Cavalry
    • 52nd Cavalry
    • 53rd Cavalry
    • 54th Cavalry
    • 55th Cavalry
    • 56th Cavalry
    • 57th Lancers
    • 58th Cavalry
  • Other
    • The President's Bodyguard

Special forces

The Special Service Group (SSG) is an independent commando regiment/corps of the Pakistan Army. It is an elite special operations force similar to the United States Army Special Forces (Green Berets) and the British Army's SAS.

Official numbers are put at 2,100 men, in 3 battalions; however the actual strength is classified.[13] It is estimated to have been increased to 4 Battalions, with the eventual formation of 2 Brigades of Special Forces (6 Battalions).

Combat doctrine

A Pakistan Army soldier deployed during an exercise and armed with the Heckler & Koch G3, the PA's standard assault rifle.

The Pakistan Army has developed a doctrine called the Riposte which is a limited "offensive-defence"[14] doctrine. It has refined it consistently starting in 1989 during the "Exercise Zarb-e-Momin". This doctrine is fully focused towards Pakistan's archenemy, India.

The doctrine is derived from several factors:[15]

  1. The vulnerability of Pakistan is not in its lack of strategic depth versus India, but in the fact that so many of its major population centers and politically and military sensitive targets lie very close to the border with India. As such Pakistan can ill-afford to lose large territories to an Indian attack.‘
  2. Strategic depth’ in the form of a friendly Afghanistan is deemed vital by military planners due to the fact that the country is very narrow at its middle and could well be cut into half by an Indian attack in force.
  3. India has substantially enhanced its offensive capabilities, and a stand and fight approach doctrine used in the 1965 and 1971 wars would lead to serious Indian penetration of Pakistani territory with the Pakistani army being unable to maneuver to meet the threat. Counterattacking formations would then be destroyed piecemeal by numerically superior Indian forces.
  4. Holding formations in both India and Pakistan can man their forward defensive positions and fortifications in less than 24 hours. However, Corps level reserves with large stockpiles of munitions will take between 24 to 72 hours for mobilization after being given their orders. In this regard, both armies will be evenly matched in the first 24 hours since the Pakistani units have to travel a shorter distance to their forward positions.

This doctrine entails Pakistan in the event of hostilities with India will not wait for the enemy's offensive, but rather launches an offensive of its own. The offensive will be a limited advance along narrow fronts with the aim of occupying territory near the border to a depth of 40–50 km. 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 the Indians.

The Pakistani Army hopes to accomplish three things under this strategy:[15]

  1. The enemy is kept off-balance as it will be tied up containing the Pakistani offensive into its territory rather than launching an offensive into Pakistani territory.
  2. The Pakistani Army hopes to contain the fighting on the Indian side of the border so that any collateral or other damage will be suffered by India.
  3. Indian territory of strategic importance once seized, will give the Pakistani Army a bargaining chip to be used in the aftermath of a ceasefire brought about by international pressure after 3–4 weeks of fighting.

Kashmir, LOC and the Northern Punjab areas are heavily fortified and ill-suited for large mechanized offensives. The most likely area where Pakistan might launch its offensive is the semi-desert and desert sectors in southern Punjab and Sindh provinces.

To supplement this doctrine, the Army in the 1990s created a strong centralized corps of reserves for its formations. The force is known as Army Reserve South and is a grouping of several powerful Corps from Pakistan's Order of Battle. These formations have been 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 has also increased its ammunition, fuel and other military stockpiles to last for 45 days in case of a conflict. During the 1965 war for instance, Pakistan only had 13 day reserves which hampered its military operations.

Involvement in Pakistani Society

The Pakistan Army has played an integral part in the government of Pakistan, almost since its inception, mainly on the pretext of lack of good civilian leadership corruption and inefficiency.[16] It has virtually acted as a third party that has repeatedly seized power in the name of stabilizing Pakistan and ending corruption. However, according to political observers, political instability, lawlessness and corruption are direct consequences of army rule.[17]

The tradition of insubordination within the army towards the legitimate leadership of the country can be traced back to Lt. Gen Frank Messervy who resisted obeying the orders of Pakistan’s founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah. This was described as the main reason for his early retirement. However it did not prevent him being honoured and promoted to general. Later General Douglas Gracey, the C in C of the Pakistan Army did not send troops to the Kashmir front and refused to obey the order to do so given by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Governor-General of Pakistan.[18]. Gracey argued that Jinnah as Governor-General represented the British Crown of which he himself was an appointee. The same tradition was continued by their successors, Ayub Khan, Zia and Musharraf, all of whom received honours instead of being tried for indiscipline and insubordination.

The army runs the largest real estate business in Pakistan under the auspices of Defense Housing Societies and other welfare societies. However out 46 housing schemes directly built by the armed forces, none is for ordinary soldiers or civilian officers and personnel employed by the army.[19].

In 2009, Transparency International described the Pakistan Army as the most corrupt institution in Pakistan.[20].

Humanitarian relief

Pakistani Soldiers carry tents away from a U.S. CH-47 Chinook helicopter October 19, 2005

In times of natural disaster, such as the great floods of 1992 or the October 2005 devastating earthquake, army engineers, medical and logistics personnel, and the armed forces played a major role in bringing relief and supplies.

The army also engaged in extensive corporate activities. Most of these enterprises, such as stud and dairy farms, were for the army's own use, but others performed functions in local civilian economy such as bakeries, security services and banking. Army factories produced such goods as sugar, fertilizer, and brass castings and sold them to civilian consumers albeit at prices higher than those charged from military personnel.[21]

Several army organizations operate in the commercial sector across the country. For example, the National Logistics Cell was responsible for trucking food and other goods across the country; the Frontier Works Organization built the Karakoram Highway to China; and the Special Communication Organization maintained communications networks in remote parts of Pakistan. The Pakistan Army has been involved in relief activities not only in Pakistan but also in many other countries of the world, such as the relief activities after Bangladesh was recently hit by floods. The Army also despatched relief to Indonesia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka after they were hit by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the resulting tsunami. Both the Pakistan Army and Navy sent ships and helicopters to assist in the tsunami relief operation.

Personnel

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.

Officer ranks

About 320 men enter the army bi-annually through the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul in Abbottabad in the North West Frontier Province; 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 Sciences and Technology (NUST) has been established which has absorbed the existing colleges of engineering, signals, electrical engineering and medicine. 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, Islamabad. Originally established in 1971 at Rawalpindi, to provide training in higher military strategy for senior officers, the institution 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 armoured 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 the vicissitudes of 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.

Uniforms

Pakistan Army troops wearing the standard sand fatigue uniform lead the Joint Services Parade in 2005.

Pakistan Army uniforms closely resemble those of the British armed services. The principal colour is greenish brown. Dress uniforms were worn mostly on formal occasions. The service uniform was worn for daily duty. The service uniform for the ground forces was khaki (sand/tan) cotton. Officers purchased their uniforms, but enlisted personnel received a standard uniform issue, which consisted of service and field uniforms, fatigues, and in some cases, dress uniforms. The uniforms consisted of shirt, trousers, sweater, jacket or blouse, and boots. There is also a white dress uniform. The fatigues were the same for winter and summer. Heavy winter gear was issued as needed. Headgear included a service cap for dress and semi-dress and a field cap worn with fatigues. Army personnel also wear berets, usually worn in lieu of the service cap.

Brown and black and more recently former US BDU style camouflage fatigues are worn by army troop units. Uniforms" please add "The uniform of a Pakistan army soldier exhibits much information i.e. The qualification badges, the decorations & awards conferred and finally the rank.

Ethnic Composition

Traditionally, the army is a predominantly Punjabi force. In British India, three districts: Campbellpur (now Attock), Rawalpindi, and Jhelum dominated the recruitment flows. By 1990 the percentage representation in the Pakistan Army as a whole (officers and Other Ranks or soldiers) was as follows: Punjabis 84% percent; Pushtuns 12% percent; Sindhis and Baluchis 4% and Minorities 0.3 per cent. Since then, with the provision of waivers for both physical and educational qualifications, recruitment has been increased from the formerly less well represented areas. Punjab showed an overall decline in recruitment of soldiers from 63.86 per cent in 1991 to 43.33 in 2005.[21]

Women and minorities

Women have served in the Pakistan 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 Marshalls for Pakistan based airlines.[22] In addition recently eight of the 41 cadets from the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul became the first women guards of honour.[23] Pakistan is the only country in the Islamic world to have female Major Generals in the Army.[24]

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 Jammu and Kashmir and the North West Frontier Province. 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 less.

There have been numerous Christians who have risen to the rank of Brigadier; and in the 1990 the first Christian to be promoted to the rank of Maj. General was Julian Peters who commanded the 14th Div in Okara Cantt. In 2009 brigadier Noel Israel,a Christian officer was also promoted to rank of Major General.

Recipents of Nishan-e-Haider

Nishan-e-Haider; Pakistan's highest military award.

The Nishan-e-Haider (Urdu: نشان حیدر) (Sign of the Lion), is the highest military award given by Pakistan. Nishan-e-Haider recipients receive an honorary title as a sign of respect: Shaheed meaning martyr for deceased recipients.

Similar to the American Medal of Honor or the British Victoria Cross. It has only been given 10 times since 1947. Listed below are the 10 people to have received the Nishan-e-Haider.

Name Unit Conflict Date Place of Death
Captain Muhammad Sarwar 2nd Battalion of the Punjab Regiment War of 1947 July 27, 1948 Uri, Kashmir
Major Tufail Mohammad 16th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment 1958 Border clash with India August 7, 1958 Lakshmipur District
Major Aziz Bhatti 17th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment War of 1965 September 10, 1965 Lahore District
Major Muhammad Akram 4th Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment War of 1971 1971 East Pakistan
Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas Shaheed No. 2 Squadron Minhas War of 1971 August 20, 1971 Thatta, Sindh, West Pakistan
Major Shabbir Sharif 6th Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment War of 1971 December 6, 1971 Kargil, Indian Administered Kashmir
Lance Naik Muhammad Mahfuz 15th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment War of 1971 December 8, 1971 Wagah-Attari
Sawar Muhammad Hussain 20th Lancers of the Pakistan Armoured Corps War of 1971 December 10, 1971 Zafarwal-Shakargarh
Captain Karnal Sher Khan 12th Battalion of the Northern Light Infantry Kargil War July 5, 1999 Kargil, Indian Administered Kashmir
Havaldar Lalak Jan 12th Battalion of the Northern Light Infantry Kargil War July 7, 1999 Kargil, Indian Administered Kashmir

Recipients of Foreign awards

Two Pakistani pilots belonging to the army aviation branch of Pakistan army who carried out a daring rescue of a mountaineer are to be given Slovenia's top award for bravery. Slovenian, Tomaz Humar got stranded on the western end of the 8,125m Nanga Parbat mountain were he remained for around a week on top of the world's ninth-highest peak. The helicopter pilots plucked the 38-year-old from an icy ledge 6,000m up the peak known as "killer mountain".

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.[25]

Equipment

The equipment currently in use by the Pakistan Army is divided into the following main sections: small arms, armour, artillery, aircraft and air defence systems.

Small arms

The Heckler & Koch G3 is the Pakistan Army's standard assault rifle, shown here is the G3A3 model.
Weapon Comments
Handguns
Glock 17
Glock 26
HK P7
Steyr M9A1 Recently acquired by the SSW.
Tokarev
Sub-machine guns (SMG) and carbines:
Heckler & Koch MP5 Manufactured by POF.
Heckler & Koch MP5K Also in use by Airport Security Force and personal security detail of VIPs, manufactured by POF.
FN P90
Assault rifles
Type 56 Chinese-manufactured AK-47.[26]
AK-101
AK-103
Steyr AUG Used by Pakistan Marines, confirmed in We Were Soldiers "Dawn News"
FN F2000
Battle rifles
Heckler & Koch G3 The PA's service rifle. G3A3, G3P4 variants in service.
Grenades
M67 grenade
Sniper rifles
Karabiner 98k [27]
HK PSG1 [26]
M82 Barret
Steyr SSG 69 [26]
Machine guns
FN MAG
FN Minimi Para
MG3 Manufactured under license by Pakistan Ordnance Factories.[28]
RPD
Grenade launchers
Carl Gustav recoilless rifle
Mk 19 grenade launcher
RPG-7 Manufactured under license by Pakistan Ordnance Factories
RPG-29
RPG-2

Armour

Al-Zarrar MBT
M60 AVLB
Vehicle/System/Aircraft Firm Number in Service Status
Main Battle Tanks (MBT)
Al Khalid II 50 Al Khalid II is poised to become the Pakistan Army's backbone main battle tank from 2012
Al-Khalid 600[29] In service, .htm production and deliveries ongoing. 300 Al-Khalid ordered initially, later orders for upgraded Al-Khalid I.[30]
T-80UD 320[31] 320 delivered by Ukraine between 1997 and early 2002, incorporating re-designed T-84 turret.[32]
Type 85-IIAP 300[33] 300 Type 85-IIAP built under license at Heavy Industries Taxila, later upgraded to Type 85-III.
Al-Zarrar 400[34] Upgraded form of Type 59-II.[30]
Type 69-II 400[35] Produced under license, armed with 105 mm guns.[36]
Type 63 1000 Amphibious tank
Type 59 1,200 All in kept in reserve/storage
T-54/55 1000 All in kept in reserve/storage
Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC)
Hamza Infantry Fighting Vehicle 200
Al-Fahd Infantry fighting vehicle 140 In Service
Talha Armoured Personnel Carrier 800 Final number to be around 2,000
Sa'ad Armoured Personnel Carrier 500 Currently in production
M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier 1100[37] In Service
BTR-70 Armoured Personnel Carrier 120[38] In Service [39]
Mohafiz Light Armoured Personnel Carrier  ???[40] In Service & Additional APCs being procured
Otokar Akrep Light Jeep 1260 In Service
Al Qaswa Logistical Vehicle 200 Being procured
M88 ARV Armoured Recovery Vehicle 200 In Service
Armoured Bridging Vehicles
M60A1 AVLB Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge 400 In Service
M48 Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge 400 In Service

Artillery inventory

M109 self-propelled howitzer
M115 towed howitzer
Vehicle/System Calibre Quantity Comments
Self-propelled artillery
United States M110 203 mm 60 Tracked chassis.[41]
United States M109A2 155 mm 200 Tracked chassis.[41][42]
United States M109A4 155 mm 350 Tracked chassis.[41][43]
United States M109A5 155 mm 115 Tracked chassis.[41][44][45][46] Final batch of 48 delivered February 2010.[47]
People's Republic of China NORINCO SH1 155 mm ~90 6×6 wheeled chassis.[48]
MRLS-Multiple Launch Rocket System
People's Republic of China A-100 300mm [49] Confirmed during the recent Azm-e-Nau-3.
People's Republic of China WS-1B 400mm Classified, not declared yet by Pakistan Army
Pakistan KRL-21 122 mm Truck-mounted. Kahuta Research Laboratories from Pakistan have developed a rocket launcher that is very similar to the North-Korean BM-11
Towed artillery
United States M115 203 mm 28[50]
Turkey MKEK Panter 155 mm 30 Auxiliary power unit can propel the gun at up to 18 km/hr.
United States M198 155 mm 148[51] 95 plus 24 delivered in 1997.[52]
United States M114 155 mm 144[53]
United States M59 155 mm 30
People's Republic of China Type 59I 130 mm 410[54]
People's Republic of China Type 54 122 mm 490[55]
People's Republic of China Type 60 122 mm 200[56]
United States M56 105 mm 115[57]
United States M101 105 mm 216[58]
People's Republic of China Type 56 85 mm 200[59]

Aircraft inventory

Vehicle/System/Aircraft Role Quantity Comments
AH-1F/S Cobra Attack helicopter ~16[60] One squadron supplied in 2010.[61]
AH-1S Cobra Attack helicopter 17[62]
AH-1F Cobra Attack helicopter 18[63] [64]
Aérospatiale Puma Transport helicopter 30 [65]
Mil Mi-17 Transport helicopter 92 according to world Airforces 2009.[66]
Bell 206 Jet Ranger Utility helicopter 16[67] [65]
Bell 407 Utility helicopter 45[68]
Bell 412 Utility helicopter 25 [69]
Bell UH-1 Huey Utility helicopter 40[70]
Eurocopter AS-550 Utility helicopter 50
Aérospatiale Alouette III Utility helicopter 40 Being phased out.
Aérospatiale SA-315B Lama Utility helicopter 40 Being phased out.

Anti-tank missiles

Anti-tank

Air defence systems

Man-portable air defence systems
High altitude air defence systems
Anti-aircraft guns

External links

Official websites

References

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Web resources