XI Corps (Pakistan)

XI Corps
Active 1975 - Present
Country  Pakistan
Allegiance  Pakistan Army
Branch Active Duty
Type Army Corps
Role Combined arms formation
Tactical headquarters element
Size 60,000+ approximately (though this may vary as units are rotated)
Part of Western Military Command of Pakistan Army
HQ/Command Control Headquarter Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province
Nickname XI Corps
Colors Identification Red, White and Black
            
Engagements Siachen conflict
Soviet war in Afghanistan
Indo-Pakistani War of 1999
War in North-West Pakistan
Decorations Military Decorations of Pakistan Military
Commanders
Corps Commander Lt Gen Hidayat ur Rehman
Notable
commanders		 Masood Aslam
Fazle Haq
Ali Jan Aurakzai
Insignia
Flag of XI Corps

The XI Corps is an active administrative corp of Pakistan Army. The XI Corps is the only one corps that is assigned in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province of Pakistan. It is currently stationed in Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtaunkhuwa. The Corps was established and quickly raised in 1975 to support administrative military operational units in the NWFP and Northern Areas. The corps is internationally distinguished for its involvement in Soviet war in Afghanistan.

Afghan War

It was the start of the Afghan War, which brought the Corps to prominence in 1979. It was given three infantry divisions, and was given the responsibility of covering the Khyber Pass, one of the two approaches by which the Soviets could attack into Pakistan (the other was the Bolan Pass, guarded by the XII Corps). For more than a decade it held the line against Soviet expansionism.

Kargil War

The end of the Cold War brought effected the Corp immesly. No longer facing a threat on its Western flank, the army moved division, brigades and units away from the division, and its orienatation was changed from a defence of the Afghan border, to being a reserve in Kashmir. The 1999 Kargil War saw the corps enter action for the first time and it fought mainly in the Gultari sector of the war, where one of its members, Captain Kernel Sher Khan would win the Nishan-e-Haider, the Highest Pakistani Gallantry Award.

War on Terror

After September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001 and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan, the XI Corps became the main Pakistani formation involved in fighting in Waziristan and the North West Frontier in general. It has been reinforced and also commands substantial forces of paramilitary Frontier Corps.

List of commanders

  1. Lt Gen Majeed Malik, April 1975 – March 1976
  2. Lt Gen Sawar Khan, March 1976 – January 1978
  3. Lt Gen Fazle Haq, January 1978 – March 1980
  4. Lt Gen Chaudhri Abdul Majid, March 1980 – April 1984
  5. Lt Gen Muhammad Iqbal, April 1984 – October 1985
  6. Lt Gen Mirza Aslam Beg, October 1985 – January 1987
  7. Lt Gen Ahmad Kamal Khan, January 1987 – February 1989
  8. Lt Gen Rehm Dil Bhatti, February 1989 – September 1990
  9. Lt Gen Farrakh Khan, September 1990 – August 1991
  10. Lt Gen Ayaz Ahmad, August 1991 – May 1994
  11. Lt Gen Mumtaz Gul, May 1994 – October 1996
  12. Lt Gen Saeed uz Zafar, October 1996 – March 2000
  13. Lt Gen Imtiaz Shaheen, March 2000 – April 2001
  14. Lt Gen Ehsan ul Haq, April 2001 – October 2001
  15. Lt Gen Ali Jan Aurakzai, October 2001 – March 2004
  16. Lt Gen Safdar Hussain, March 2004 – September 2005
  17. Lt Gen Mohammad Hamid Khan, September 2005 – April 2007
  18. Lt Gen Masood Aslam, April 2007 – April 2010
  19. Lt Gen Asif Yasin Malik, April 2010 – December 2011
  20. Lt Gen Khalid Rabbani, December 2011 – October 2014
  21. Lt Gen Hidayat Ur Rehman, October 2014 – present

Composition

The order of battles of the corps keeps changing, especially in view of its current commitment in the War on terror. During peacetime the XI corps is based in the following areas:

References

    External links