Structure of the Pakistan Army
The structure of the Pakistan Army is based on two distinct themes: operational and administrative. Operationally the Army is divided into nine corps and two corps-level formations with areas of responsibility (AOR) ranging from the mountainous regions of the north to the desert and coastal regions of the south. Administratively it is divided in several regiments (details below). The General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Army is located in Rawalpindi in Punjab province. It is planned to be moved to the capital city of Islamabad nearby.
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Army headquarters and staff
From left, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and Rear Adm. Scott Van Buskirk, commander of Carrier Strike Group 9, speak with Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Kayani and Maj. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha, director general of military operations, on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) while under way in the northern part of the Arabian Sea on Aug. 27, 2008.
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 (PSO's) assisting him in his duties at the Lieutenant General level include:
| Post | Name |
|---|---|
| Chief of Army Staff (COAS), GHQ. | General Qamar Javed Bajwa |
| Chief of General Staff (CGS) | Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza |
| Adjutant General (AG) | Lt Gen Muhammad Aamir |
| Quarter Master General (QMG) | Lt Gen Aamir Abbasi |
| Millitary Secretary (MS) | Lt Gen Muhammad Abdul Aziz |
| Chief of Logistics Staff (CLS) | Lt Gen Azhar Saleh Abbasi |
| Inspector General Training & Evaluation (IG T&E) | Lt Gen Sher Aghun |
| Inspector General Arms (IG Arms) | Lt Gen Khalid Zia |
| Inspector General Communications and IT (IG C&IT) | Lt Gen Ali Amir Awan |
| Engineer-in-Chief (E-in-C) | Lt Gen Moazzam Ejaz |
The Military Operations and Intelligence Directorates function under the Chief of General Staff (CGS). 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.[1]
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.
Operational structure
Hierarchy
- Corps: A corps usually comprises two or more divisions and is commanded by a Lieutenant General.
- Division: A division usually comprises three brigades including infantry, artillery, and engineers, and is commanded by a Major General. Each division also has one or more armoured brigades, except for mountain divisions. There are nineteen infantry divisions, one Special Security Division, two mechanised divisions, two armoured divisions, one division-sized formation called Force Command Northern Areas, one engineer division, two artillery divisions (believed to be in possession of ballistic missiles).
- Brigade: A brigade usually comprises three or more battalions of different types and is commanded by a Brigadier. Some brigades are independent of divisions and consist of battalions of the same type.
- Battalion: A battalion has about 6-900 soldiers and is commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. This number varies depending on the type of subunits of the battalion. A battalion comprises either three batteries (artillery or air defence - generally named Papa, Quebec, Romeo, and Headquarters Battery) or four companies (infantry - generally named Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta) or three squadrons (armoured). Each of these subunits is command by a Major major and consists of further subunits called sections (which are further divisible into platoons and squads).[2]
Corps
There are nine corps (each including an independent signals brigade) and two corps-level formations (Air Defence and Strategic Forces).
| Corps | HQ Location | Current Commander | Major Corps Formations |
|---|---|---|---|
| I Corps[3] | Mangla | Lt. Gen. Shaheen Mazhar Mehmood | 6th Armoured Division (Gujranwala) 17th Infantry Division (Kharian) 37th Infantry Division (Kharian) |
| II Corps[4] | Multan | Lt. Gen. Muhammad Naeem Ashraf | 1st Armoured Division (Multan) 14th Infantry Division (Okara) 40th Infantry Division (Okara) |
| IV Corps[5] | Lahore | Lt. Gen. Majid Ehsan | 2nd Artillery Division (Gujranwala) 10th Infantry Division (Lahore) 11th Infantry Division (Lahore) |
| V Corps[6] | Karachi | Lt. Gen. Humayun Aziz | 16th Infantry Division (Pano Aqil) 18th Infantry Division (Hyderabad) 25th Mechanized Division (Malir) |
| X Corps[7] | Rawalpindi | Lt. Gen. Azhar Abbas | Northern Areas Command (Gilgit) 12th Infantry Division (Murree) 19th Infantry Division (Mangla) 23rd Infantry Division (Jhelum) Special Security Division (Chilas) |
| XI Corps[8] | Peshawar | Lt. Gen. Nauman Mahmood | 7th Infantry Division (Peshawar) 9th Infantry Division (Kohat) |
| XII Corps[9] | Quetta | Lt. Gen. Muhammad Waseem Ashraf | 33rd Infantry Division (Quetta) 41st Infantry Division (Quetta) |
| XXX Corps[10] | Gujranwala | Lt. Gen. Syed Asim Munir Ahmad Shah | 8th Infantry Division (Sialkot) 15th Infantry Division (Sialkot) |
| XXXI Corps[11] | Bahawalpur | Lt. Gen. Syed Muhammad Adnan | 26th Mechanized Division (Bahawalpur) 35th Infantry Division (Bahawalpur) |
| Air Defence Command[12] | Rawalpindi | Lt. Gen. Hamood Uz Zaman Khan | 3rd Air Defence Division (Sargodha) 4th Air Defence Division (Malir) |
| Strategic Forces Command[13] | Rawalpindi | Lt. Gen. Qazi Muhammad Ikram Ahmed | 21st Artillery Division (Pano Aqil) 22nd Artillery Division (Sargodha) |
Independent brigades
There are several independent brigades including seven mechanised infantry brigades, eight armoured brigades, four artillery brigades, and nine engineer brigades. These include:
- 105 Independent Infantry Brigade under V Corps
- 105 Air Defence Independent Brigade Group in XXXI Corps
- 111 Independent Infantry Brigade at Rawalpindi with X Corps
- 212 Infantry Brigade at Lahore with IV Corps.
Former formations
Eastern Command was a Corps level formation in the former East Pakistan consisting of 14th, 9th and 16th Infantry Divisions, these three divisions were re-raised after the 1971 war and still exist today.
36th adhoc Div. and 39th adhoc Div. were raised to command the Paramilitary troops and a few loyal battalions. Were later reinforced with a couple of other battalions each. They were not re-raised after the war.
Administrative structure
The Pakistani Army is organised in two main ways, which are Arms and Services.
| Combat Arms | Insignia | Administrative Services | Insignia | ||
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| Armoured Corps |  |
Service Corps | |
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| Air Defence Corps |  |
Military Police | |
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| Aviation Corps |  |
Electrical and Mechanical Engineering |  |
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| Artillery Corps |  |
Medical Corps | _Badge.jpg){kind=icon} |
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| Signals Corps | Education Corps | |
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| Engineer Corps | |
Veterinary Corps | |
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| Infantry Regiments |       |
Ordnance Corps | |
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| Special Forces | .svg.png){kind=small} |
Military Intelligence Corps | |
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| Coast Guards |  |
Chaplain Corps | |
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| Dental Corps | |
Regiments
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References
- Iftikhar A. Khan. "Kayani shakes up army command" Dawn, 30 September 2008
- "Subdivisions of the army". Archived from the original on 2006-11-16. Retrieved 2007-01-21.
- Formed in 1958 in Abbottabad, now based in Mangla; Fought in the 1965 and 1971 wars, as well as sent replacements to Kashmir for LOC.
- Formed in 1968 in Lahore, transferred to Multan in 1969.
- Formed in 1965 in Multan, transferred to Lahore in 1969.
- Formed in 1975. 16, 18 IDs are all mechanized. Has a lot of independent Brigades as well, since it has all of Sindh to cover.
- Raised in 1975 by Lt. Gen. Aftab Ahmad Khan
- Formed in 1975. Presently engaged in fighting in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas
- Formed in 1985.
- Formed in 1987. Each division has 4 brigades and an armoured division is in the process of raising.
- Formed in 1988.
- Formed in 1990.
- Formed in 2000.
- The Azad Kashmir Regiment was raised in 1947, became part of the army in 1971.
- 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 Sindh Regiment was raised in 1980 from battalions of the Punjab Regiment and Baloch Regiment.
- The Baloch Regiment formed in 1956 from the 8th Punjab Regiment, The 10th Baloch Regiment, and The Bahawalpur Regiment; can be traced back to the 3rd Madras Battalion raised in 1798.
- The Frontier Force Regiment is the successor to the Frontier Brigade raised in 1846.
- 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.
- The President's Bodyguard formed at independence from members of the Governor General's Bodyguard, itself successor to the Governor's Troop of Moghals raised in 1773.
- 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.
- 29th Cavalry Regiment, nicknamed as 'Royal Bengal Tigers' was the armored regiment stationed in former East Pakistan. Entire regiment was lost in 1971 war and was raised later with nickname 'Tigers'. Currently the regiment forms part of 6th Armored Division and is stationed at Kharian.
- Raised 1 November 2014.
- Disbanded and amalgamated with Inf. Regiments. Few remnants of Heavy Mortar (i.e. 88 Mtr Arty Bn) remained until 2005–6 when they were too made part of Inf. Regiments.
- e.g. 25 Field Regiment Artillery.
- Mountain Rgmts. are rare in the world with only Pakistan Army and Indian Army operating them at Line of Control in considerable amounts.
- They have been substituted with modern Ballistic Artillery Regiments but some still remain under different names.
- e.g. 155 Composite RKT Rgmt. Arty.
- 5 Light Air Defence was the first ever Army unit to be inspected by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1948; this unit can be traced back to 125th Royal Heavy Anti Aircraft Artillery raised at Woolwich, England in 1918.
- 6 Light Air Defence (Glorious) is the famous unit which downed more than 36 IAF fighter jets during Battle of Dhaka in 1971; it was raised in 1912.
- 19 SP Air Defence was the 1st Self Propelled Air Defence Unit attached to Armored Formation.
- 153 SP Air Defence (Fakhar-e-Tabuk) raised in 1990 took active part in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 over Saudi-Iraqi Border and intercepted number of Iraqi Scud surface to surface missiles.
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