Ghaznavi Force

The Ghaznavi Force (Urdu:غزنوی فورس), named after famous Muslim conqueror Mahmud of Ghazni, was an auxiliary Special Operations unit formed by the Pakistan Army as part of Operation Gibraltar in 1965 to infiltrate Jammu and Kashmir in the hopes of provoking a local revolt against the Indian regime there. It had a strength of approximately 200 and was composed of regular soldiers of the Azad Kashmir Regular Force and commandos from the Pakistani Special Service Group. Its commander was decorated officer Major Malik Munawar Khan Awan SJ.[1]

History

The Ghaznavi Force was one of 10 total units, each named after a historic Muslim leader, to be assembled for the operation (the others including Salahudin, Tariq, Babur, Qasim, Khalid, Nusrat, Sikandar and Khilji) by the Pakistan Army. It infiltrated Jammu and Kashmir in July 1965 to operate in the Poonch-Rajuri area. It was resupplied with ammunition dropped from Pakistan Air Force planes.[2]

See also

References
  1. Farooq Bajwa (30 September 2013). From Kutch to Tashkent: The Indo-Pakistan War of 1965. Hurst Publishers. pp. 117–. ISBN 978-1-84904-230-7.
  2. "The 1965 War: Lessons yet to be learnt".

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